


It's a Matter of

by ameliortea



Series: It's a Matter of [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Draco Malfoy, Aurors, Case Fic, F/M, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Healer Hermione Granger, Healers, Occlumency (Harry Potter), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 68,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26304628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ameliortea/pseuds/ameliortea
Summary: He was an Auror for all the right reasons. She was a Healer for all of the wrong ones. Actually, maybe it was the other way around.Our cast includes a Healer determined to prove herself, an Auror desperately holding onto his occlumency shields, Slytherin Aurors who are more trouble than they’re worth, a couple capable Healers prone to getting into bad situations, and one or two couples that belong together despite their pasts.
Relationships: Daphne Greengrass/Theodore Nott, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Series: It's a Matter of [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932439
Comments: 151
Kudos: 249





	1. Time

**Author's Note:**

> If it's anything you recognize, I do not own it! The story is finished, and I will be updating every few days as I edit. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> The first chapter is a lot of setting up, so I hope you give the other chapters a chance because things move along fairly quickly!

As she cast a final diagnostic spell, Hermione could feel a bead of sweat slip down her neck. A small sigh of relief escaped when everything appeared to be normal. Turning away from her patient, she tapped her wand to a small button on the wall. “Could I please have a nurse in OR 9?”

“One will arrive in a few minutes,” promised a pleasant female voice, as Hermione studied the chart on the wall that automatically noted every spell, potion, and any actions she had taken over the past few hours. Severe internal bleeding and many shattered bones had made the operation slightly complicated, especially for a Junior Healer to take on her own. Hermione sighed and tapped the chart to indicate that the operation was complete. 

“What happened in here?” gasped a St. Mungo’s nurse in her light blue uniform who had just opened the door. Hermione cringed as she took in the room. Blood was all over the table and her bright green Healer robes.

“Sorry, I was going to clean up while I was waiting.” Hermione cast the proper gentle _scourgify_ on the patient and a harsher one on the room.

The nurse just nodded and raised her own wand to levitate the patient onto the hospital bed she had brought with her. A few more flicks of her wand had the man in a hospital gown and a blanket pulled up to his chest. “Please send a copy of your charts to room 38 when you are finished.”

Hermione managed a tired smile and promised to send the notes to the appropriate Healers once she organized them. The doors shut behind the nurse, and Hermione groaned. She cast a quick _scourgify_ on her robes before she grabbed her notes. As she was organizing the rest of the room, she made a mental note to ask Daphne about her progress on the advanced blood replenishing potion they had been discussing for the past few weeks. It would have been useful in today's operation.

There wasn’t anyone else in the corridor as she exited, and the growl of her stomach echoed in the usually busy operating ward. She realized it was already past four in the afternoon and hoped that everyone else was available. She just needed to find five minutes to eat her sandwich. No one else was in the small Junior Healer Trauma office besides Alicia Spinnet, who gave Hermione a small wave and followed her to her desk.

“How’s your day going, Alicia?” Hermione sank into her chair and hunted for the small sandwich and the cup of coffee she had picked up that morning.

Alicia cast a small warming charm on her coffee and perched on the edge of the desk, agilely avoiding disturbing the stack of reports and healing texts. “It’s been pretty crazy, but that’s normal! I did a major operation this morning with Head Healer Park and another one around noon with Healer Jones before I was told to prepare some reports for the trainees to work on.”

Hermione nodded as she took a sip of her thankfully hot coffee. “That sounds nice.”

“Merlin, you look tired. I would imagine you would be used to long operating hours by now.” Alicia frowned as she took a look at the chart on Hermione’s desk. “I noticed you were in the operating room when I finished my second operation, but I didn’t realize you were alone. You didn’t even have the assistance light on outside.”

“Oh, it just worked out like that.” Hermione took a bite of her sandwich and swallowed quickly. “Everyone was busy, and the patient came in so quickly. The operation was pretty simple in theory, and I didn’t think anyone else would be available soon.”

“I still can’t believe you’re in the Trauma ward. I always imagined you would go for the Research ward or Long-Term Care ward. You always liked doing the research instead of doing everything quickly like Harry does,” mused Alicia, as she studied the chart and took in the timing of the actions and the number of spells cast.

“You talked with Head Healer Park after your operation,” groaned Hermione. Their Head Healer was not Hermione’s biggest fan and was always suggesting she move divisions.

Her fellow Junior Healer laughed. “I really don’t think he hates you. He just thinks you would be happier in a different ward. You’re doing great work, but you don’t seem to relish working at lightning speeds and having to make split-second decisions.”

Hermione snorted into her coffee and smirked. “I had perfectly good split-second decisions and instincts during the war, thank you very much.”

“Oh, I forgot about the dragon!” Alicia snorted as she shook her head. “Head Healer Park just wants everyone to be happy, and he still wants to poach Harry.”

“Harry’s happy where he is. Can you imagine how many more witches would somehow hurt themselves to potentially be treated by the Boy Who Lived? Besides, he doesn’t want the hardest division in all of St. Mungo’s.”

“I just want to make sure you’re happy, Hermione. You don’t have to do the hardest things because you feel like you need to, oh Miss Brightest Witch of our Age,” announced Alicia with a flourish of papers.

Hermione blushed. “I know the work doesn’t come naturally to me, but I’m ok with where I am right now. We’ll see what happens in a few years.”

Alicia sighed and returned the papers. “Fine. But take a ten minute break. The others should be back soon, and you should take advantage of the peace and quiet after your operation.”

“I will, thanks! I’m going to visit Harry, but send me a message if anything comes up.” Hermione smiled and popped the last of her sandwich into her mouth as Alicia waved her away.

* * *

Hermione had barely set foot in the Pediatric Ward before she spotted her best friend. “Harry!”

He glanced up from his papers and grinned. “Hi Hermione! I’m just heading to my last patient of the day. You’re welcome to join me.”

She nodded and made her way further down the corridor to where Harry was waiting outside a door. Harry hadn’t changed much in the five years since the war. Their Eighth Year at Hogwarts had eased them into normalcy, and they had all gotten the opportunity to put their year hunting horcruxes behind him. His bright green robes fit him well, and the slight slouch in his stance was due to being near the end of a twelve hour shift instead of being on the run and starving. Harry was definitely happy working with children instead of chasing down dark wizards.

His green eyes crinkled as she stepped closer. “I was actually going to talk to you about this case over dinner. It’s nothing we’ve seen before, and I thought I could use your big brai—”

“Junior Healer Potter,” a loud voice boomed in the corridor and caused several nearby nurses to flinch.

Harry rolled his eyes at her and pasted on the smile reserved for the fangirls who snuck into the ward and for Prophet photographers at large events. “Healer Smith. Can I help you with anything?”

Benjamin Smith, Zacharias’s older cousin, gave a similar smile back. “Ah Junior Healer Granger. I see you’ve deserted your post again.”

Hermione hoped she had a smile that matched the others, but it probably came out as a grimace. “Just taking a small break after a five-hour operation. I thought I would stretch my legs.”

“Five hours, Hermione?” Harry shot her a worried glance and looked like he was about to cast a diagnostic spell on her.

“I operated on a patient for eight hours not too long ago. Anyways, I’ll take over your last patient Junior Healer Potter. I’ve already finished my rounds, and I think the Head Healer would like to see some results on this novel case instead of more reports.” Smith held out an expectant hand.

“That’s fine. I’ll swing around before I leave to say hi to Alex later then. We can get in our daily game of chess then.” Harry quickly handed off a chart and dragged Hermione down the corridor. “Five hours? I know you did a four hour one just yesterday by yourself,” Harry angrily muttered as he tried to push her down into a nearby chair.

“I’m fine, Harry.” Hermione managed to brush him off and glared at him. “We’re all working the same hours. I just happen to be operating for most of them, and I don’t get a chance to stretch my legs.”

He frowned. “I bet you did this one by yourself again. You’re going to wear yourself out, and it’s only Tuesday.”

“I’ll be fine. I should be good to go right at seven if you want to floo home for dinner together. I can ask Daphne if she wants to come over for dinner.”

He brightened at that. “Sounds good, and Ginny will also be there. I don’t have too much paperwork to finish up. I’ll just be in Alex’s room, so you can come whenever you’re finished.”

* * *

Hermione nodded to a few of the other Junior Healers in her office before sitting down. It’s not that she was being unfriendly, but it just felt pointless when they would be gone after a couple months. Because of how small their Hogwarts class had been, there weren’t nearly enough Junior Healers. A lot of Junior Healers were from America and continental Europe, and they only came for a short internship. Alicia was the only one who would be staying long-term. Most of the trainees were from Hogwarts, so she would have more long-term colleagues in a few years.

She scrawled a note to Daphne on a charmed notepad left over from their trainee days. Daphne Greengrass had lived with her parents, and Hermione had just moved into Grimmauld Place at the beginning of their healing education. It had been too much of a hassle for them to work on homework and study for exams with each other in person, so Hermione had charmed a notebook so they could work together.

_Hi Daph, Let me know if you have any updates on the new blood replenishing potion? It would’ve been useful in an operation today. Also, you’re welcome to come over for dinner tonight. – Hermione_

Hermione flipped through a couple charts for the next few hours and made notes for the Healers working on the patients she had operated on. Because of the nature of her ward, she never saw patients again after they went to the appropriate Healer, who would then be in charge of the patient until they were discharged. She still liked to keep track of them and see if she could help out with any follow-up procedures. Her notepad rippled with a response.

_Hello Hermione, I am quite busy this week with some things at home, but thank you for the offer. I do have some progress. Will you be in the office Saturday around lunch? -Daphne_

She grinned as she penned off a note and marked her calendar. Her Saturdays were for supervising trainees and helping out with scheduled surgeries in the late afternoon. It was the one predictable part of her week.

“Ah, Granger.” A tall Asian man had walked up to her desk and was peering down at her. Head Healer Park reminded her of her old Potions professor, though not in appearances. The man in front of her had perfectly coiffed black hair that never seemed to be out of place, even in the operating room, and had horn rimmed glasses that didn’t quite hide the smile lines by his eyes. However, they both moved silently and gracefully, and they had eyes that judged her for every single one of her actions. “I heard you had a solo operation.”

Hermione stood up. “Head Healer Park. I did do an operation earlier.” She found the chart and offered the pages to him.

“Hmm, not bad. No complications, I assume. Although it did take quite some time.” He raised an eyebrow. “You’re lucky it worked out the way it did. If you had taken someone else with you it would’ve saved time and prevented any hiccups if they came up.”

“Yes, Sir. It was a unique situation. If there are other people around next time, I will be sure to grab them.” Hermione could feel a blush as she watched her supervisor flip through the pages with his wand. Everyone had been busy when the call had first come in, but she really should have turned on the assistance light. If something hadn’t worked properly, the operation could have ended badly.

“See that you do. It would help to have someone with instincts and who can make split-second decisions in the operating room. Carry on.” He neatly put the pages back together and turned to the next Junior Healer.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked through the chart from that day’s surgery. Head Healer Park’s neat penmanship littered the pages with modifications and improvements. There were notes questioning the necessity of complicated spellwork, adding spells, and highlighting how long the operation had taken. There was still an hour until her shift was over, so she pulled out her notes and started to write an alternate plan for next time.

At 7:05, she cleaned up her station and dropped her notes in her satchel to study when she got home. They couldn’t take any charts home in the interest of patient confidentiality, but they could take home notes with specific details they wanted to review. She walked Alicia to the staff fireplaces before continuing to the Pediatric ward again. The ward was relatively quiet with all the children in their rooms for the evening. A voice called for her to come in when she gave a small knock on the door Harry had been outside earlier.

“Ah my dinner reminder is here,” said Harry with an impish grin. A groan came from the bed. A boy who couldn’t have been more than eight years old pushed the chess set in front of him away.

“Does this mean we have to stop?” Alex had light brown hair and a frown on his face. His blue eyes were currently pulling puppy eyes, and Hermione wished she had come a few minutes later.

“I’m afraid so, Alex. It’s ok, I’ll keep my board in my office and we can continue the game tomorrow.” Harry cast a stasis charm on his pieces and set his board aside. “Let me do one last quick check on you, and Nurse Davies should be coming by with your dinner. I should be able to come in before your parents tomorrow morning.” He was already pulling out his wand and waving intricate movements.

“Will the wards come down tomorrow?” asked the young patient. Hermione frowned and noticed that there was a quarantine ward around the bed, which explained why they were playing chess on two sets.

Harry chuckled. “Yes, we’ve determined that nothing’s contagious. If the diagnostics stay the same overnight, I’ll take the wards down before your parents come to visit. Hopefully it’s a sign that you’ll be back to normal soon. Anything else you need in the meantime?”

“No. Thanks, Harry.” Alex set aside the chess table and made room for his impending dinner.

“No problem! I’ll see you in the morning.” The charts and chess board were summoned into Harry’s waiting hands. He banished the board and charts to his office and sent the a packet of notes into his own satchel with an undetectable extension charm, courtesy of Hermione.

Hermione smiled at the young boy and followed Harry out of the room. “Quarantine wards?”

Harry groaned, “It’s been a nightmare of a case. We can talk about it over dinner. Kreacher popped by a few minutes ago and told me that dinner will be ready in a half hour, and Ginny should be there just in time.”

“Wonderful, just enough time for a shower.” Hermione led the way towards the staff fireplaces and grabbed a pinch of powder. She softly spoke, “Grimmauld Place.” They had dropped the Fidelius Charm last year, and the house was extensively warded, but it had been a habit to keep the official name quiet.

She quickly stepped through before Harry could bump her and began to clean her robes. A pop sounded to her right. “Miss Hermione and Master Harry. Dinner will be ready in about a half hour. Is there anything you would like Kreacher to do?”

Hermione still relished hearing the ancient house elf say her name with a modicum of respect. “Just dinner would be lovely, thank you.” He nodded and popped back to the kitchen. She dodged the coffee table cluttered with healing textbooks and dropped her satchel on her couch. Harry did the same with his couch and they both made their way upstairs.

Harry continued to the third floor, while Hermione opened her bedroom door on the second. Eager to shower the day away, she shrugged her Healer robes into the laundry basket and quickly entered the bathroom. The lights flickered on, and she was looking at herself in the mirror as she unbuttoned her shirt.

There were bags under her eyes, and her bun was dangerously close to coming undone. With a sigh, she took the pins out and continued to toss clothing into the laundry basket. The hot shower was definitely helping, and she could feel her muscles relaxing as the hot water pounded down on her shoulders. It hadn’t been the worst day, but she could tell she needed an early night.

She quickly dressed in a simple t-shirt and shorts before hurrying downstairs. Ginny was already sitting next to Harry at the table and sipping a butterbeer. “Hi Ginny, how was your day?”

The pretty redhead turned and grinned. “I got to update some traps on the Potter vaults today! Apparently, they belong to someone important or something.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Or something. Please don’t destroy my vaults. Also, isn’t there some kind of conflict of interest in working on your boyfriend’s vault?” He playfully pulled Ginny’s ponytail and dodged her counterattack.

“Don’t worry, I put in some of the latest ones I’ve been learning during my apprenticeship.” Ginny took off her Gringotts robes to reveal her Holyhead Harpies team t-shirt from two years ago. “Can we start eating now? I need to go back to work in an hour.”

“I think you might work worse hours than us, Ginny.” Hermione grimaced at the thought of going to work after dinner. She grabbed her plate and dug into the salad bowl.

“Actually, it’s not that bad. It’s still nothing like your trainee period.” Ginny grinned at the twin expressions of disgust on her friend and boyfriend’s faces. “I should be getting hours that are more like yours next year.” Ginny had moved back in with her parents after she exchanged her brief but successful quidditch career for a career as a Gringotts Curse Setter. The hours of her apprenticeship were the opposite of Harry and Hermione’s schedule, and having even more exhausted Healers and Curse Setters was a bad idea.

Harry grinned as he dug into his chicken. “Finally. Say the word and I’ll grab your things from the Burrow to move you in.”

“I still have a few months before my schedule will calm down, Harry. Speaking of schedules, I’m having lunch with Ron and Lavender on Saturday if either of you are free.” Ron and Lavender had gotten together during their Eighth Year and had gotten engaged a few months ago. The two of them had more freedom in their schedules as the manager of the Hogsmeade Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes and as a reporter for Witch Weekly.

“Hmm, I might be able to make time for lunch on Saturday. There’s a weird case in my ward, but they should be able to spare me for a longer Saturday lunch. Hopefully it resolves itself before the weekend.”

Hermione swallowed a bite of her baked potatoes. “Weird case?”

“Oh yeah, it’s Alex. He’s had some weird symptoms that seem like the muggle cold, but his parents said that nothing’s been working. We’ve been quarantining him all day in case it was contagious, but it seems like it’s fine. All of our usual diagnostics haven’t shown anything out of the ordinary beyond his symptoms and none of the treatments we’ve tried today have worked. It’s baffled everyone.” Harry took a sip of butterbeer. “Hopefully he’ll just feel better, but the other Healers are starting to get interested in his illness.”

“None of the diagnostics showed anything out of the ordinary? That’s odd.” Hermione frowned and thought about it. “They should detect muggle diseases as well. I’m assuming he’s not a pureblood if he’s having cold symptoms?”

“His mom’s a muggleborn at least from what I could see from the patient history.”

“Hopefully you’ll figure it out soon. Hermione, what about you? Lunch?”

Hermione shook her head. “Sorry, I already promised my free time on Saturday afternoon to Daphne. She has some updates on a potion I wanted to see. But we should see them on Sunday at the Burrow?” Even though things hadn’t worked out with Ron the summer before their Eighth Year, Hermione got along with the couple. Due to their schedules, the only times they had time to see each other were Sunday lunches at the Burrow.

“Lavender has an assignment in Paris for the next week, so they’re both leaving Saturday evening. Ron’s decided he wants to see if the new employees can hold down the fort while the village is quiet for summer holiday. I think he just wanted a free trip to Paris” Ginny popped half of her roll into her mouth.

Harry laughed. “Spending your free time on a potion again? Are you sure you don’t want to work in the Research ward?”

“I’m fine where I am, Harry. Although, everyone still wants you in the Trauma ward because they think you’ll take to it like a fish in water.”

“Nope,” muttered Harry with a scowl, “I’m perfectly fine with the kids and no major injuries.” He thought as he took another sip of butterbeer. “I still think you’re being wasted in the Trauma ward. You’re good at what you do, and you’ve proven that you can do it. But Hermione, I still don’t think you’re entirely comfortable there, and I think you would be much happier in a lab. I think it might challenge you more than constantly operating on patients.”

She sighed. “It’s not just wanting to be intellectually challenged, Harry. I want to get better at split-second decision making and learn some new skills before I think about going back to research. Today’s events clearly showed I have some more work to do.”

His bright green eyes stared at her. “Do you think you’ll get nightmares again tonight? I have a vial of dreamless sleep in my satchel.”

“I’ll be fine Harry. You don’t need to worry about me.” Hermione turned away to drink her butterbeer, avoiding her best friend’s doubtful expression.

The nightmares came after stressful solo operations. They were about the patients she operated on, but it was the feeling that was the worst. It was the sense of utter helplessness she had gotten when Ron had splinched himself and Harry had been bitten by Nagini in Godric’s Hollow. The feeling that her patient was going to die because she didn’t know what to do. It was much worse than the pre-exam panic that had held her captive during her Hogwarts years. And she had lost patients, but she had never lost a patient when she worked by herself. The one time she almost did had her waking up with nightmares for a week.

It would be fine. Nothing she couldn’t handle.

* * *

“Draco? The rest of the house is secure. Anything else to do down there?” Blaise’s voice drifted through the cellar door. His friend’s tone was professional and could be used as an example in Auror trainee classes.

He surveyed the destroyed cellar. There were scorch marks on the walls where misfired spells had landed, and a pile of storage boxes in the far corner had been incinerated. He called back, “I just need to make a couple notes. Did Theo take the suspects in already?”

“Yes, a couple hitwizards came to help with the transport.” Blaise was making his way down the cellar steps and let out a sigh as he surveyed the damage. “For people who were working the black market, they were terrible with their spells.” Draco finished jotting a few notes in his notebook to make writing up the report easier before facing his friend.

Blaise had his easy-going grin he reserved for outside of work on his face. A small cut marred his hand. “One of them still managed to nick you though, Blaise. You’re going to have to use your mother’s special cream if you don’t want it to scar.” Draco smirked at his friend and started up the stairs, blinking a bit in surprise when he noticed that the sun was setting already. The raid had happened at noon, but there had been too many objects to catalog after they had incapacitated the house’s residents.

“I don’t think either of us were expecting one of his misfired spells to splinter a chair.” The Italian Auror grimaced and pulled out a handkerchief to dab at the cut. “I’ll see you in Robards’s office in ten minutes? I have some bruise paste for your cheek, and I can grab mother’s potion. And I know you’ll use it because it’s on your face instead of elsewhere on your body.” Blaise pulled out his wand and cast a flurry of charms on his robes and Draco’s robes so that they looked brand new and freshly pressed. “We need the Malfoy heir to look his best as always.” With a wink and a small crack, he apparated away.

Draco just rolled his eyes and pulled his wand out to apparate to the Ministry. While Blaise, or Blaises’s mother, was obsessed with keeping his body free of scars, Draco had given up caring on how marred his body was and didn’t particularly like to be treated. He only made an exception for his face because his mother would move back from France in a heartbeat if she had the slightest hint that he had been injured. He knew she would be anxious to be in Great Britain without her husband, so he focused on sounding happy and looking injury-free whenever he visited her. He had already cast a numbing spell on his cheek where a small box had hit him from a minor explosion.

A few dirty looks darted his way in the atrium, but it was far fewer than when he had first become an Auror trainee. Draco, Theo, and Blaise had finished the program as the top three recruits respectively and had impeccable case records. The Prophet always liked to feature them in the Case of the Week, marveling at how efficiently the partners wrapped up cases. It also helped that Blaise’s mother had been keeping quiet with her latest husband in Italy, Lucius Malfoy was safely in Azkaban, and Theodore Nott Sr. had died in the Battle at Hogwarts. Their fellow Junior Aurors and senior colleagues had been wary until they realized how skilled the three were. It was excellent if you could get one on your team, but the real prize was if all three were on the same team.

He was grateful for Blaises’s spells when he entered a lift with other Wizengamot members. He usually did keep his robes neat to keep up appearances, but it had seemed pointless when there was a small chance of anyone important lingering in the Ministry in the evenings.

“Mister Malfoy. Are you coming back from a case?” Draco turned to the side to see Augusta Longbottom next to him. Even though the old woman was much smaller, Draco felt like he was looking up at her.

“Good evening, Madame Longbottom. We arrested several smugglers and just finished cataloging their wares. I think their information will help the Wizengamot’s next session regarding the black market that has picked up recently.” Draco kept his professional mask up. He couldn’t give a lot of details, but he knew the Wizengamot would find out eventually, especially since there had been more smuggling cases in the past month than the past year.

She nodded. “Wonderful news. I’m glad you’re keeping up with the Wizengamot proceedings. I know my Neville is only focused on his plants and students.” She sniffed. “And the Potter boy is just running around St. Mungo’s. I hope when all of you children decide to take up your family seats that you’re well versed on how the proceedings work.”

Draco managed to contain his smirk at her compliment. “I’ll do my best to prepare when I make the decision.” The lift landed on the eighth floor. “Have a good evening.” He knew that there were several seats on the Wizengamot that were empty. Members had to be above the age of 35 before they could take on their family seat. He had already resigned himself to taking up his post when he turned of age because there was no way the Wizengamot would allow Lucius Malfoy to take up the post right after his Azkaban sentence. He was surprised Neville wasn’t keeping up with the proceedings, as both of them had been raised as heirs and exposed to the politics they would be required to have some part in when they became old enough.

He made his way to Robards’s office and found Theo waiting outside. His other friend and Auror partner was flipping through his notebook to prep for the briefing. “I have a few more notes to add about the damage during the raid here, Theo.”

“Pass me your notebook then, and I’ll organize it. I’m assuming Blaise will be here soon?” Theo gave a tired smile. He was the more studious one and typically arranged all of their reports even though Draco led most of the reporting.

“He just needs to pretty up his face a bit,” Draco snorted and handed Theo the relevant pages.

“My face is already pretty, thank you very much,” drawled Blaise as he walked up. He tossed the bruising paste to Draco, who neatly caught it before sliding the small jar into his pocket.

“Are you boys ready?” The Head Auror was studying them from the door of his office. He seemed amused by their antics. “You won’t be paid more for your looks, Zabini. And Nott, I’m sure the report will be fine. I just want a brief overview and you can turn in an official report by the end of the week.”

He invited them into his office and listened to Draco’s brief overview of the mission. “Good job, lads. I’ll have one of you join the interrogation team and it would be great if you could give me a formal report by the end of Friday” They all looked at Theo, who just nodded. The report would be on Robards’s desk by noon of Friday at the latest, given the way Theo finished his assignments. “I also want to talk about your upcoming promotion.”

The three former Slytherins straightened up a bit at that news. They had been Junior Aurors for a couple years, and they were looking forward to becoming formal Aurors. It would mean getting put on some more interesting cases. There were considerably less cases with the Dark Arts involved with all of the Death Eaters rounded up, but there were more exciting cases beyond dealing with smugglers.

Robards smiled at their enthusiasm. “I know all of you are very successful, and the Prophet has been singing your praises. I think I want to give you a different type of case just to round out some of your skills before we promote you. We should be able to give you something in a couple weeks. I’m having Deputy Head Marks look over your past cases and seeing what we can use to diversify your skills before we set you loose. Any questions?”

Draco glanced at the other two and shook his head. “That sounds good to us, sir. We’ll keep an eye out and focus on wrapping this case up for the rest of the week.”

“Excellent. You’re free to go home right now. I’m sure Zabini wants you to take care of your face, Malfoy.” Robards snorted and sent the notes he had written during their briefing into an empty folder.

* * *

Hermione pulled her hair into a ponytail as she boarded the hospital lift to find Daphne. She assumed Harry was off exchanging notes with other Junior Healers. They all had six hour shifts on the weekend, but this meant that there was more information turnover to keep track of. Quickly coming to the Research Ward on the top floor, Hermione opened the first door to see the usually elegant blonde with her hair in a messy bun and minding several potions with varying degrees of stasis charms on them. It was a sight that was familiar from Eighth Year.

The two had become friends in their Eighth Year when they had become Potions partners and worked together on their Arithmancy and Ancient Runes homework in the library. Daphne had been particularly skilled in Potions, and Slughorn had spent the year praising their extra credit work in preparation for NEWTS. The Slytherin girl had been close with Theodore Nott and Tracey Davis before the war, but had kept mostly to herself during their Eighth Year aside from joining Hermione and Harry in the library to focus on the NEWTS required for a spot in the St. Mungos training program. Hermione didn’t think she had gone to the Slytherin dungeons for any other purpose beyond needing a place to sleep.

The blonde looked up and gave a small smile. “Hello Hermione, perfect timing as always. I have some arithmancy equations that aren’t adding up for this potion. Can you take a look?”

Hermione grinned. “Of course.” She felt a small thrill as she looked at Daphne’s neat script and pulled out a quill to do some extra calculations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long time since I've written anything, and this is my first HP fic. Please be gentle with me! Thank you for reading!


	2. Consequence

“ _Confringo.”_ Draco twisted to avoid the curse and quickly sent a reply. He didn’t have a chance to fully enjoy the satisfaction of seeing his opponent flying backwards before he was dodging more curses from his right.

He had been finishing up a report at his desk when his watch had grown warm with a message requesting all available Aurors for backup. Theo and Blaise were still interrogating the smugglers they had caught last week to see if they had information on other criminals another group of Aurors had caught yesterday. There had been absolutely no context. Being met with a _confringo_ as soon as he arrived was not something he was used to. Most criminals didn’t throw these spells unless they were dangerous or desperate. Or both. Draco threw up a quick shield charm and tried to find other wizards in red robes.

A yellow hex cut through his shield and sliced his chest. Holding back a grunt of pain, he sent a _stupefy_ in response and blinked at the sudden stillness. He looked around and found that he was in someone’s fairly large front yard with several stunned people in ropes littering the ground.

“Ah Malfoy. Thank you for coming,” a low voice panted behind him. A senior Auror was catching his breath. “We have the parents and their daughter at a temporary safe house, and we’ll be bringing in the criminals. Do you mind helping with the clean up?”

Draco shook his head. “Of course not. Is everyone alright?”

“We sent a couple Aurors to St. Mungo’s already. The family was unconscious when we arrived. We think the suspects were demanding funds from the father, but nothing’s clear yet.” He frowned as he looked at Draco’s chest. “Do we need to send you to the hospital too?”

“I should be fine, sir. It’s just a scratch.” Draco looked down and saw a small dark stain on his red uniform that was slowly growing. He vanished the stain. The red uniform didn’t quite make sense to him because it was difficult to see any blood on it. Maybe that was why the Gryffindors were in red. Bravery usually led to risky ideas and danger, so they might as well cover up their injuries as they basked around in their glory.

“Make sure you’re okay. There should be a couple others inside. They were using some more dangerous spells, so we had to call for backup.” The Auror nodded at Draco and apparated with the three prisoners closest to him.

Draco looked around and saw other senior Aurors disappearing with their own prisoners in tow. He let out a breath and started walking to the front door. A hiss slithered through his teeth as his chest twinged, and the stain was growing again. He cast a stasis charm on it to last him the few hours it would take for him to get through the clean-up process and vanished the stain again. He could fix it with some potions when he got home.

The foyer was filled with debris and picture frames littered the floor. “Hey Malfoy, we have a couple others on the upper floors. Do you mind taking the basement?” An Auror he had worked with before nodded at him as she popped her head out of the kitchen.

“No problem, Auror McLean,” replied Draco as he levitated some picture frames off the floor and onto a side table. One of the photos landed face up, revealing a smiling family of four. They were all dressed in nice clothing, and a toddler boy giggled in his father’s lap.

A toddler boy. A boy.

“McLean?” Draco called out as he strode into the kitchen. The female Auror was sifting through destroyed drawers to see if anything was relevant. She looked up with a brow raised. “The family who lived here; who were they and where were they taken?”

She frowned. “I’m not sure of their identity, but it was a family of three. Just the parents and their daughter. They were only stunned when we arrived and quickly moved to a safe house. Why?”

“There might be another kid. We need to search the house and tell the others.” Draco handed her the picture and whirled out of the kitchen, heading for the basement staircase. He cast a _sonorous_ on himself as he went. He barked, “We’re looking for a boy, probably younger than ten years old in the house. Someone needs to tell the Senior Aurors to check the information.” A flurry of sound echoed throughout the house with doors being wrenched open as he descended into the basement.

“ _Lumos,”_ he muttered. The basement was messy, but it didn’t seem like a struggle had taken place. “ _Homenum Revelio,”_ he cast and realized someone else was in the basement. He cautiously walked around in case one of the criminals had hidden in the basement. Draco heard a small sound in the far corner and cautiously made his way over.

A small boy covered in blood had collapsed. He couldn’t have been more than six years old. His dark curls were matted in blood and his small ankles had been bound together. A quiet whimpering was pushing out of his mouth.

Draco rushed over and made sure that there was no one else in the room. He could feel a pulse, but it was weak. He cast a silent shield to prevent further harm and carefully picked up the boy. The child was light enough that Draco didn’t feel the need to cast any other charms and hurried up the stairs.

He had never seen a child on any cases, and there was just so much blood. He hadn’t seen that much since the final battle at Hogwarts. Focusing on the small rise and fall rise of the boy’s chest to keep himself grounded, Draco burst out of the basement to the surprise of several Aurors.

“Draco? Is he hurt?” Auror McLean was looking in horror at the small body in Draco’s arms. She looked at the blonde and noticed he was shaking and was paler than usual. “Are you okay?”

“I’m taking him to St. Mungo’s. Let the others know for me.” Draco briskly walked out the front door and apparated away.

He passed off the boy to a nurse at the hospital and was assured a Trauma Healer would be able to work immediately. He tapped his watch with his wand and sent a few messages to the other Aurors, indicating that he would stay at the hospital until the boy was finished with his operation. With everything taken care of, he could feel the tremors in his fingers more acutely.

Draco rushed into the closest bathroom and immediately threw up in the first toilet he could find. He was usually fine with gore on cases, but seeing the boy passed out in his blood had reminded him of dark days in the Manor. He went to rinse out his mouth and fixed his hair. His face was extremely pale and there was a sheen of sweat on his face.

He hadn’t felt this out of control in years.

He clenched his trembling fists and closed his eyes. And began to build a new wall for the first time since his trial had ended. He always hated using his occlumency, but it had become a necessary crutch.

It wasn’t natural to suppress one’s emotions and thoughts. It was easier for him after years of perfecting his pureblood mask, but occluding was dangerous. When you stopped occluding, which you had to do because the energy required was too great to maintain the walls indefinitely, the emotions would come back in a rush. Whatever you held back came back in a torrent of feelings.

Draco knew he was going to collapse eventually, but he hoped he could wait until he got home to have his meltdown. Or, maybe he would just knock himself out so he wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath. A good _stupefy_ right after he brought the relevant walls down would give his thoughts time to reorganize themselves by the time he woke up. Maybe he would ask Theo to knock him out later tonight.

He slowly opened his eyes and was satisfied when he saw that his eyes looked properly shuttered. Until he brought down the wall surrounding the events of this afternoon, he would be ruled by logic and not emotion. He methodically cleaned his robes and had them look freshly pressed before setting off to find out where the boy was being treated.

* * *

Hermione grimaced as she looked at her small patient. She had just been leaving her operating room when Healer Jones had dragged her into the room next door. The usually mild-mannered Healer had starting barking orders for her to grab different potions as he waved his wand over a small boy covered in blood. It hadn’t taken more than two hours, but a lot of healing had been involved. Because he was so young, they had to limit the spells they used and rely on more muggle methods to mend his wounds.

The boy was perfectly fine, but he was just so small. Hermione wondered what situation had caused a little boy to be so injured. He had had to be placed into a magical coma upon arrival because his injuries had been so serious. His clothes had been so bloodied and torn, that it was a welcome relief to see him in a hospital gown.

Healer Jones gave her a small smile. “It looks like he’ll be okay. I’m going to finish up and monitor him for a couple more minutes. I apologize for grabbing you earlier, especially after you had just finished another operation. I needed someone with more muggle training for this.”

“It was no trouble, I’m glad I could help.” Hermione nodded and brushed the clean curls off the boy’s forehead. “I’ll go get a nurse to help with transport when I pass the station.”

“Thank you, Hermione. Make sure you take some potions for your hands. And don't do anything else today.” Healer Jones studied the diagnostics and nodded before turning to add some extra notes on the chart.

Hermione opened the door to find a nurse already waiting outside. “Oh, we’re ready for a transport when you have the chance.”

The nurse smiled at her. “I can take care of that now. There’s also a Junior Auror waiting in the corridor for when you’re finished. He’s asked someone to find him when the operation was over.”

“Oh, I guess I can let him know then.” Hermione frowned. There weren’t many people who waited for the Trauma Healers to finish. Most guardians or interested parties were forced to wait in the regular waiting rooms for the Healer assigned to the patient after the operation.

She rolled her neck as she made her way towards the corridor connecting the trauma ward to the main body of the hospital. Slowing down as she spotted the red uniform, Hermione stopped when she saw the white blond hair. “Malfoy?”

His head whipped up to see her, and a frown marred his face as he looked at her robes. She looked down and saw that she was covered in blood and potion stains. Blushing, she quickly scourgified herself and walked closer. “The patient is being transported to the Pediatric ward on the 3rd floor if you would like to see him.”

The grey eyes looked down at her. She was a little surprised at their flintiness. “Do you have any details on the operation?”

“He should be fine. It’s a good thing he got here when he did. We had to use some muggle methods, but the Pediatric Healers should be able to give you details.” She pasted a smile on her face and started to turn away.

“Why can’t you give me the details?” His voice was flat, a tone she wasn’t used to hearing.

Hermione blinked. “Well, they’ll have the charts and everything.”

“Didn’t you operate on him? Do you not remember what you did?” An elegant eyebrow rose to accompany the statement, and Hermione bristled.

“Why do you need to know the details? There was a lot going on, and the Pediatric Healers can take the time to explain it to you,” exclaimed Hermione, as she flexed her cramping fingers. She really needed to get a muscle relaxant or else her hands would be shaking too much to even hold her wand soon. It always happened after her second operation due to temporary magical exhaustion.

He seemed to hesitate, but his eyes grew a little colder. “I need the information for my report, and I thought it would be more efficient to get the information from whoever operated on him.”

Hermione scoffed angrily. He didn’t even care if the kid was okay, but was worried about his report? “Well, Malfoy. I don’t have the time right now to help you with making your life easier. The charts will be upstairs and you can ask the Healers upstairs because they know how to handle Auror reports and they have the time to spare. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She stormed back in the direction she had come from and groaned at her growling stomach. It was going to be another late lunch.

* * *

Draco slowly counted to ten as he watched Granger rush off and tried to focus on his occlumency shields. Her robes were flying haphazardly behind her and it looked like her bun was trying to escape from her pretty head. The effort going into occluding from the day’s events were weakening the walls surrounding his thoughts of a certain muggle-born.

He needed to find Theo. He wasn’t going to be able to help out with the case until he properly dealt with the afternoon’s events, and he trusted Granger with being honest that the boy was fine. If Granger had operated on him, the boy had to be fine. He tapped his watch and felt a small amount of relief filter through him when his friend indicated that he was free for ten minutes. That was all the time he needed. Draco hurried towards the public floos as he felt his walls weakening with every step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos and interest!


	3. Interest

Hermione was bored. She had already gone through all of her charts for the week. A couple other Healers were waiting to see if they needed to help out with a procedure, but Hermione had already used the preferred operating level for the day. Due to the nature of the healing spells used in the Trauma ward, most trainees and Junior Healers were limited in how long they could operate every day. Hermione’s two operations had already passed six hours, which was when most senior Healers advised them to stop working in order to preserve their fine spellcasting and still be able to help out if there was a true emergency.

“I’m going to go check on my patient from earlier in the Pediatric Ward. Could you let people know if anyone looks for me?” She asked Alicia as she pulled the relevant chart from the stack on her desk.

Alicia nodded as she wrote out a few notes. “Of course, although I doubt that they’ll ask. You did too many hours today, so you might as well go home.”

Hermione laughed. “I’ll leave at the end of my shift. I’m sure I’ll survive until then.” She slipped out the door and checked her notes to see what room the little boy from earlier would be in. There wasn't any mention of a room number, so she was glad to run into Harry as she passed the Pediatric Ward break room.

He was carrying a cup of tea and grinned at her. “I just needed a pick-me-up before I go to check on my last patient.” Harry appraised her for a second before handing it to her. “It looks like you need it more than I do.”

She gratefully took a small sip and followed Harry back into the empty break room as he prepared another cup of tea. Harry usually only added a splash of milk in his teas, so she took the time to add some honey in hers. “I ran into Malfoy earlier today and he was being a prat.”

“Isn’t Malfoy the Auror Division’s most prized recruit? Was he hurt?” Harry blinked at her as he waved his wand to heat up the kettle.

“I guess he was keeping an eye on one of my patients. But he seemed to be more concerned about getting information for his case report than checking to see if the child was alright.” Hermione forced herself to take another sip of tea before she started ranting further. “Sorry, it’s just been bothering me all day, and I don’t have any other operations to distract myself.”

Her best friend chuckled. “Maybe that’s how he became their best Junior Auror, by being obsessed with paperwork.” He picked up his freshly brewed cup of tea. “Oh, I think your patient is my patient now. There was a boy who came in after an operation this afternoon. He just woke up a half hour ago, but I was in the middle of something. Do you want to check on him?”

She smiled. “Yes, that’s actually why I came to the ward. Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up Malfoy.”

Harry shrugged. “It’s not like we’ve really seen him around since Eighth Year. A rare sighting of the ferret should be reported,” he sniggered with a wink.

Giggling, Hermione followed Harry and asked him about his other cases. “How’s Alex doing? Has he felt better over the weekend?”

“No, but it’s not necessarily getting worse. He’s been getting more tired recently, so I’ve taken to checking on him in the mornings. He can barely stay awake long enough for an early dinner because the other Healers run tests on him all afternoon.” He frowned as he took a left down another corridor. “Someone’s already inside the room.”

“Are you sure my parents are okay, Mister Draco?” A small voice echoed in the silent corridor. The two Junior Healers exchanged glances and moved closer.

“They’re perfectly fine, Philip. In fact, your parents will be here in the morning. Some of my friends just need their help tonight. And your sister is helping them out too. You can tell her all about your fun evening in the hospital. I know the nurses give out ice cream for dessert.” Draco Malfoy was perched in a chair beside the hospital bed. He was running his fingers through the giggling boy’s dark curls. “Your aunt said she would be back with one of your books in a few minutes. Are you sure you don’t want me to get something for you?”

“No, I just don’t want to be alone.”

The Auror smiled, and both former Gryffindors blinked at how different the man looked from his Hogwarts years. “I’ll stay with you until the Healer comes. I’m sure they want to check on you to make sure you don’t have any more ouchies.”

“Malfoy?” Both heads turned to Hermione, who was frowning with a confused Harry shuffling behind her. Malfoy flinched and seemed to brace himself.

“See Philip, your Healer is right here. I’ll come by in the morning with your parents.” Malfoy gave a small smile and got out of his seat.

Harry cleared his throat and put on a smile as he walked into the room. “Hello Malfoy. Thank you for keeping Philip company. My name is Harry, and I’ll just check on you while we wait for your aunt. Is that okay?” The little boy nodded and waved goodbye to Draco. “Hermione, did you want to stay?”

She stared at the tall Auror making his way towards the door. “I’ll come back in a minute, Harry. I want to check on something.” Hermione moved aside and closed the door as Malfoy brushed past her. “Malfoy, I want to talk to you.”

He sighed and started to walk down the corridor. “Can this wait until later, Granger? It’s been a long day.” His voice wasn’t as flat as it had been earlier that afternoon, but it held a tinge of exhaustion.

Hermione sped up to catch up to his long strides and whirled in front of him, staring up at grey eyes that had lost their flintiness. The look was familiar, but there was something different. She shook her head. “No, this cannot wait, Malfoy. How could you just not care about the boy at all this afternoon and then try to be his best friend now?”

Malfoy dodged her and continued down the corridor. “I’m not a monster, Granger. I really should be going. You can make an appointment with Head Auror Robards if you have a problem with my professionalism.”

They entered an empty lift, and he made to push the button for the ground floor. “I don’t have time for appointments, Malfoy. I want you to explain yourself.” She managed to get in front of him again and stopped him with a poke to the chest.

Malfoy suddenly let out a pained gasp and grabbed his chest with one hand. A dark stain was rapidly spreading across his pristine robes. His hand was quickly dripping a bright red that matched his uniform.

Hermione’s eyes widened, and she pulled out her wand. “What is this, Malfoy?” her voice climbing a pitch with every word.

He opened one eye while keeping the other squeezed tightly shut. “I’m fine.” His breathing was ragged and he made to move around her again. She quickly jabbed the button for the Trauma ward and began casting diagnostic spells.

“You’ve held a stasis charm on this? How long ago did you cast it?” She moved to slice the top of his uniform off.

“Seven hours? Give or take?” Malfoy was quickly growing paler and starting to sway.

“Seven hours? Malfoy, you must be insane!” Hermione sigh of relief as the lift doors swung open quickly turned into a soft grunt, as Malfoy passed out and landed on her. She quickly levitated him before he could knock her over. The man had nearly a foot on her, and she took care to make sure he didn’t hit the corners of the lift as she hurried to the nearest empty operating room.

She quickly set Malfoy on the table and jabbed her wand at a button to turn on the assistance light outside her door. A nurse would see it and direct another Healer to the room. Although Hermione knew she shouldn’t be doing any difficult spells on her own, seeing the state of Malfoy’s chest after tearing away his uniform made her quickly begin casting initial healing spells.

* * *

Draco snapped his eyes open as he felt the _rennervate_ hit him, and immediately closed them as he was met with bright hospital lights. He groaned and opened them at a slower pace. His chest ached a little bit and he turned his head to see a blood-splattered Granger with a worried frown on her face. Her bun had a few more strands loose from it than when he had seen her show up at Philip’s door. “Granger?” His voice was a little scratchy, so he knew he had been unconscious for a couple hours.

“Oh good, you’re aware of where you are. I know Aurors are tetchy about waking up in hospital beds, and Healer Jones wanted to make sure you were functioning before I assigned you to a room.” Granger was rambling and studying the diagnostics as they recognized his consciousness.

She nodded at the results and leveled him with a hard gaze. “Care to explain why you had a stasis charm for four hours, give or take, longer than recommended? Especially on an injury that needed immediate attention?” Her hands had automatically landed on her hips and her stern face was eerily reminiscent of McGonagall’s.

Clearing his throat, he muttered “I got distracted with the mission, and I found Philip. He was more important and in much worse shape.”

Her glare eased a little bit and she shook her head. “I don’t understand why Aurors can’t just agree to also be admitted when they bring in an injured party.” She sat down in a chair and began to clean his bloodied torso. He was suddenly aware that his uniform top had disappeared, and Granger was much too close as she focused on healing some minor cuts from a previous mission. She leaned in closer as she worked to bandage the part of his chest that was covered in a cream.

Draco found himself watching her concentrated frown and inhaled a whiff of vanilla that had broken through the sharp antiseptic scent of St. Mungo’s. He hadn’t smelled it since his Eighth Year. Caramel eyes flicked up to meet his eyes before they looked back down at the various scars littering his body.

“I’m sorry for poking your chest earlier. It was uncalled for. Although, I’m glad I did, or else you would’ve bled to death as soon as the stasis cracked in the next ten minutes.” She swallowed and leaned back in her chair. “This one shouldn’t scar. Your Healers are terrible if they’ve left you with these many scars.”

He blinked at her. Had he just gotten an apology after she had saved his life?

Granger moved her eyes to the diagnostics and began to mutter again about how dangerous the prolonged stasis had been. He cleared his throat to interrupt. “It’s alright, Granger. I’ve survived much worse.”

Her glare was withering. “I’ve noticed,” she managed to bite out through clenched teeth. “You’re not getting treated properly and it’s terrible.” Her eyes trailed scathingly up and down his torso before she blushed and turned back to the diagnostics.

That was interesting.

“Thanks for patching me up, Granger.” He began to sit up and judged that he was okay to stand up. Draco barely caught her slight nod as she was carefully observing him stand up. He found his uniform top and scoffed as he shrugged it on. “You’re still terrible at accepting thanks. Do your patients just rush out when they’re done?” He cast a small _reparo_ on the part she had cut away, hoping that it would hold until he got home.

She raised an eyebrow. “I rarely see my patients conscious, as there’s a fairly quick turnaround in the Trauma ward. By the time they’re feeling better and aware of any Healers, it’s not me. All the thank you cards and presents go to the nurses and other Healers who oversee the healing process.” Granger shrugged and summoned the notes hanging on the wall.

“I can expedite the discharge process if you promise to go straight home and take it easy for the next day. Although I imagine I would be lucky to hope you stay home for the next twelve hours. And go straight to bed after a small supper. I’ll also send to have potions ready for you at the front desk by the time you make it down. You need to take them, or there is no way you’ll be able to work this week.” She stood up from her chair and swayed a little. Draco's hand immediately shot out to steady her before gently shepherding her back into her chair.

He gave a small smirk. “Do I need to get a Healer in here to fix you, Granger?”

A small laugh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes. “I’ll be fine in a minute. I had a couple operations earlier today, and I probably shouldn’t have done yours. The other Healer got here during the last part of the healing process, but I was on my own for an hour and half because of how busy the ward was this afternoon. It’s just not something that happens often.” She opened her eyes after a beat. “I’ll be fine. Thanks, Malfoy.”

Draco studied her and felt a sense of worry flood him. It seemed being knocked unconscious twice in a day after lowering one’s occlumency shields affected how easily one could maintain walls. A memory he hadn’t thought of in a long time surfaced of a Fourth Year Granger enjoying dinner the night Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had visited. He schooled his face into his signature smirk and began to button his shirt. “I think a more proper thank you is necessary for saving my life and causing you more trouble than I’m worth. Would you be available for dinner on Friday? I know a place with wonderful French cuisine.”

Granger blinked up at him and studied his expression. A careful smile graced her face, and he could feel a small swoop of victory in his stomach. “I guess I won’t say no to free French food. Friday works for me.”

He smiled and noticed the way her eyes widened. “Excellent. Thank you for your healing powers, Granger. I shall see you on Friday.”

* * *

Hermione blinked as Harry and Daphne appeared outside of the operating room. Daphne tsked and cast a cleaning charm on the room and another on Hermione’s robes. She also managed to cast a spell to tuck her bun back into place without making it past the door. “Hermione? Healer Jones mentioned that you should be ready to go home.”

“Oh, is my shift over already?” Hermione looked up at the clock and was surprised to notice it was already 7:30.

Harry frowned at her. “I thought you didn’t have another operation today.”

“Malfoy collapsed in the corridor. It was my fault. Actually, no I saved his life, twice. It was a short operation with all things considered. The idiot had a stasis charm that was barely in place, and he was losing too much blood. Healer Jones came and everything was fine. I just had to make sure his potions were deliver—” Hermione stopped abruptly when Harry’s hands grabbed hers and rubbed circles into her palms while her fingers twitched.

“Are you alright?” Green eyes looked back at her with concern and Daphne also moved into the room to look at her worriedly.

Hermione blinked. “I think I have a date with Draco Malfoy on Friday.”

“What?” yelped Harry. “You nearly kill Malfoy, bring him back to life, and now you’re dating him?”

“I’m not exactly sure what happened either,” replied Hermione with some confusion. She didn’t have a logical reason as to why she had accepted. But when she had looked in his eyes after he asked, she thought she saw a hint of something she hadn’t seen in several years. It had intrigued her because she remembered being so thoroughly confused by the event that she had found herself wondering on occasion what exactly had happened late at nights when she couldn’t sleep.

A small smile appeared on Daphne’s face as she ushered the two out of the room. “We can talk about it over dinner. And if you were to ever date a Slytherin, Draco Malfoy is the best to use for delicious dinners. He's been so spoiled his entire life that he knows all of the best places.”


	4. A Free Dinner

Draco tucked into a roll to avoid a spell flying from his left. He saw a few training blocks sail through the air towards him and flicked his wand to send them knocking into Blaise before firing a tripping jinx in the direction where the blocks had come from. Theo neatly evaded it before sending more blocks towards Draco while dodging a falling mat that had been tipped over by Blaise.

Seeing his friends turn their wands on him, Draco quickly set up a shield before exploding one of the sacks of flour in the corner they used to train. A cloud of white burst through the air just as a magical buzzer sounded. It randomly went off so that no one could time their moves during their practice sessions.

Theo waved his wand and the white mess disappeared. Vanishing his shield, Draco took stock of the training room as he caught his breath. There were blocks everywhere, and some of the mats weren’t in place. Blaise was slumped on the floor and covered in sweat. The timer had decided to set itself for just over an hour today.

“I was careful not to mess up your face any worse than it already is before your date, and you decide to send the extra hard blocks at me?” wheezed Blaise from his place on the floor. He weakly shoved a block that was next to him and grabbed his side. “Great to see the end of our friendship.”

Rolling his eyes, Theo sent a bottle of water to hit Blaise’s head. “Draco won’t look anything less than perfect now that he’s finally got a date with his Gryffindor.”

Draco was already using his wand to levitate the blocks back to the cabinet Theo had managed to break open and cast a freshening charm on everything. “Theo’s the one who decided to use props today instead of normal spells. Besides, it’s not a date,” he muttered but hid the smile that threatened to break out when he thought of Granger’s reply confirming their dinner last night. He had already filed a request to leave work early and was ready to go home to get ready. Being at work was just making him impatient.

Blaise perked up and grabbed a practice dummy before twirling it in his arms. “You’re going to have to woo her, Draco. Remember to practice your moves. I mean, who knows where you’ll end up tonight,” he purred with a large wink.

“I don’t need to practice dancing, and it’s just dinner. Besides, I’ve memorized every ballroom dance at the age of five, Blaise.”

“No, not your dance moves. Other moves.”

Draco groaned. He had known that was coming.

Theo laughed. “Remember not to take down all of your occlumency walls at once. She’s going to run for the hills if she finds out you’ve liked her for so long on your first date. Just keep up enough walls to control yourself, but don’t be an arse. You’re quite insufferable with your walls up.”

“I’m not going to listen to either of you,” muttered Draco, as he opened a window to let in some fresh air. “Blaise, you’ve never had a relationship for longer than a day. And Theo, well, you loved your girlfriend too much to the point of idiocy. Blaise and I have been trying to get you and Daphne alone at a party for years in order for your to finally come clean.”

His friend scowled at him. “I know. Why do you think I only stay for five minutes?” He turned to Blaise. “And I know this was your idea, but you need to stop it. She’s never going to forgive me.”

The taller Slytherin just leaned against the wall and rebuttoned his shirt. “We’ll see. I give it a couple more months before you crack. Actually, I give myself a couple months to crack and finally kidnap both of you and leave you on a deserted island.”

“Zabini, I better not have just heard one of my Aurors plan a kidnapping in the Ministry,” called Robards, who had just entered the room.

The three of them straightened as the Head Auror sent two files their way. “Zabini, I need you to go to Cornwall tonight. McLean and Williams can brief you. Shouldn’t take longer than a week. Nott, here’s some extra paperwork for one of your cases because Malfoy has decided to go home early for the first time.”

Theo looked at the thick folder with distaste. “He’s abandoned me for a date, sir,” he quipped.

“Theo!” Draco growled.

His friend just raised an eyebrow. “You’re leaving me with more paperwork when we could both be going home at a decent hour.”

“But you like paperwork,” he grumbled back.

“A date? Who’s the girl?” Robards asked looking slightly intrigued. He had never heard about any of the three’s personal lives, as they were all quite private. It just seemed like they went to work and went to the occasional ball or party with other old families.

“Oh, just a Healer who Draco actually let heal him,” replied Blaise. He lifted his water bottle up. “Perhaps you’ve heard of her? Her name is Hermione Granger. I think she’s a bit of a war heroine and considered the Brightest Witch of Our Age?” He had barely finished the sentence before his water bottle exploded. He looked over to where Draco had his wand out and just shrugged. “It was worth it.”

Robards shook his head and made for the door. “Behave, all of you.”

Draco flooed to the Manor a couple hours later with some files he needed to drop off in his study. He organized the folders into their respective positions before he paused. It wasn’t a date. Although Theo had a point, and he should lower some walls in order to not be rude at dinner that night.

Sitting in his chair, Draco closed his eyes and tried to reorganize his thoughts.

_Granger had been lounging by her favorite beech tree on the Hogwarts grounds the day before classes were due to start in Fourth Year. Her curls fluttered in the breeze, as she laughed sitting next to the Weaselette. Her posture was relaxed and much of the stress that seemed to occupy every moment of her school career had disappeared._

_Draco had been struck by how carefree this Granger had been. He realized he was staring and made his way back towards the castle, throwing the image behind the walls his mother had suggested practicing before coming to school. After his father had mentioned some of the old crowd seeming to gather, the last thing he needed was to be interested in Potter’s mudblood._

He grimaced and realized his walls were weakening. He focused on the feelings of gratitude and curiosity that had arisen during his interactions with her at St. Mungo’s. That would be enough to get through this dinner. Draco strengthened the walls and shoved the first memory back behind it, checking to make sure it would hold before opening his eyes again. He didn’t need to think about anything else until after the night was over. There was a good chance he would never see her again after tonight.

As he made his way towards his room, the stillness of the Manor unnerved him. With his mother in France after her six month house arrest, and Lucius in prison, he was veritably alone in the Manor whenever he wasn’t with friends or at work. The eeriness crept up on him sometimes, especially after he came back from the bustling Ministry. Draco made a note to visit both of his parents over the weekend as he pulled a muggle suit jacket out of his closet.

* * *

“What if we add in more Moondew and take out the Billywig sting slime? It would help with balancing the arithmancy.” Hermione bit her lip as she looked between the cauldron simmering under a stasis charm and the book of arithmancy equations in front of her.

Daphne groaned and pulled out a different sheet of paper. Realizing she had taken it out of her sketchbook, she accioed an empty page from a different folder. “That means we have to start over.” She levitated a new cauldron out of the storage cupboard and neatly avoided the heads of her fellow researchers. “Let’s just make sure we have all the notes from this attempt before we vanish it.”

Alex had been getting worse, and the boy could barely stay awake on his own. It seemed like his magical core was being drained. Daphne had been working on various possible cures, and Hermione had been helping out in her spare time. The case was so worrisome that Head Healer Park had allowed her the rest of her Friday to work in the Research Ward, as she had finished two operations that morning.

“I have the notes right here. Give me a couple minutes, and I can double check that we have everything written down.” Hermione grabbed a quill and started to add the conclusion to this attempt.

“Hermione! Daphne!” Harry Potter burst through the doors to the surprise and enjoyment of the other researchers. “He’s cured!” His hair was messier than it had been since his Fourth Year, but his wide grin overshadowed the fact.

Slumping into her chair, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank Merlin. What was the cure?”

“One of the Junior Healers just suggested feeding him a lot of core replenisher and everything stabilized. It took most of the hospital stock, but it worked!”

Daphne frowned. “That’s dangerous, you shouldn’t take more than one or two doses at a time. It probably only worked because he was so young and his core hadn’t stabilized yet.”

Hermione thought for a second. “Well, it gives us time to come up with something else in case an adult comes in with it. It will also take some more time to brew enough core replenisher to replace all the doses we’ve used up for this case.”

“Ah, about that.” Harry looked sheepish. “There’s some budget issues with the Research ward and the Pediatric ward. President Marlon wants us to stop researching because this was such a rare case, and too many resources were already spent without anything coming out of it. He wants us to treat it as a one-time thing and forget about it.”

“Excuse me?” Daphne looked indignant.

Harry moved closer and had a devious smirk on his face. “That’s the official announcement.” He winked and waved at the other researchers as he walked back out.

“What does he mean?” Daphne glanced over at Hermione with a raised eyebrow.

“That means we’re just going to have to be quiet about working on this. We should only be working on the weekends and break times on it. At least we aren’t racing the clock anymore.” Hermione laughed. It was going to be another small rebellion against their hated president. He had come into the position right after the war and was obsessed over profits. He was constantly trying to get Harry and Hermione to show up to fundraising events.

Daphne rolled her eyes. “That man really should have been sorted into Slytherin. Speaking of Slytherins, you should leave soon to get ready for your date.”

“I’m still not sure if it’s a date.” Hermione muttered as she organized her notes. “Just the blue dress from earlier this summer?”

“Yes, I think that would be the perfect one, and your nice heels. And remember to cast a cushioning charm on them.” Daphne grinned. She was pretty sure the evening would lead to a date if it really was a simple thank you dinner. Hermione had shown her Draco’s thank you note again and reminder from the previous morning. Given his hints, she knew exactly where he was taking Hermione. “You’re going to be having the best French food Draco Malfoy discovered in London. And don’t wear any robes over it. You’re going to stick out a bit, especially in the summer.”

“I’ve got it. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Hermione quickly flooed home and showered. Pulling her dress from the closet, she took a moment to admire it again. It was a shade lighter than the periwinkle dress she had worn at the Yule Ball, and she had last worn it at a St. Mungo’s dinner party in the Spring. Did she put her hair up or down? It would be easier to manage in a bun, but she wanted to be Hermione Granger, and not Healer Granger tonight, just in case it was a date. She barely had time to put her hair in an acceptable chignon before she was tottering over to the floo again. She cast a couple spells to help her keep her balance in her heels and took a deep breath. “The Leaky Cauldron.”

* * *

Hermione opened her eyes and waited for them to adjust to the dim pub light. She could see a couple people start to recognize her in the seconds it took for her to look around. And then she found Malfoy.

He had on black robes and grey eyes trained on her. He blinked before giving her a nod and indicating that she should follow him out the London entrance. Hermione tried to discreetly move towards the door and opened it.

She was met with the last few rays of the summer sun and Draco Malfoy in a muggle suit jacket and pants. He also had a small smile on his face. “Good evening, Granger. You look lovely.” His voice sounded a tad deeper than it had been earlier that week.

Hermione blushed. “Thank you, Malfoy. You clean up nicely as well. We’re going into Muggle London?”

He offered her his arm and smirked. “We had to take those mandated muggle classes eighth year, so I think I can survive a night or two amongst muggles. The place we’re going to has the best French dinner I’ve been able to find in all of Wizarding and Muggle London. It’ll only take a few minutes to walk there, if that’s okay?”

“I’m looking forward to it. And I can manage these heels for a few minutes.” Hermione smiled as she took his arm and noticed that he kept his pace shorter for her benefit. A minute passed in silence. “So, you’re an Auror?”

“Junior Auror. I have one mission left before I get promoted to full rank. I can’t tell you anything more than that. It’s a matter of national security.” He winked down at her. “So, you’re a Healer?”

“Junior Healer. I work in the Trauma ward. I can’t tell you anything more than that. It’s a matter of patient confidentiality.” Hermione sent a smirk up at him, and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

“Cheeky witch.”

“It’s not as if the Prophet hasn’t been revealing all of your missions though. So much for national security.” Hermione rolled her eyes as she thought of the younger Healer trainees gushing over the Case of the Week every Saturday morning. Not that she ever read those articles. Although, if she happened to know the details of his mission in Dublin two months ago, it was a simple coincidence. Really.

“Why Granger, have you been keeping tabs on me?” Draco’s grey eyes glinted faintly with amusement as he turned them down a different street.

“You have too many fangirls amongst our trainees.” Hermione laughed nervously. “Shall we move away from work topics?”

“Fine, if you call me Draco.” Hermione blinked up at her dinner partner for the evening and found him looking straight ahead.

“Ok, Draco. If you call me Hermione.” She smiled and was glad to see a flash of surprise when he looked down at her.

“Well Miss Hermione, I’m sure we can think of something else to talk about.”

They spent the rest of their walk discussing some books that had recently come out that they both had managed to read and found that they both quite enjoyed magical fiction. They were also sharing their theories on the very secret (not at all) corruption case in one of the Ministry departments when Draco opened the door of the restaurant they had arrived at.

Hermione looked around at the upscale restaurant as they made their way to the table. There were a few well-dressed couples at other tables already, but it also looked like there were a few people having business discussions over their meals. It didn’t give her any more of a hint as to the nature of their dinner. Her mouth began to water as she saw the dishes they passed by. It was one of those fancy places that had a set menu, but Draco picked out their wine as they sat down.

They resumed their conversation of the corruption case from earlier and he quickly had her giggling into her glass of outrageously expensive wine at his story of when Lucius tried to bribe a Ministry official known for having a weakness for children. He had brought a five year old Draco with him in the hopes of making the conversation smoother. Every time Lucius slipped a piece of paper with a number on it across the table, the official had given Draco a wink and a piece of chocolate. Lucius wasn’t pleased, especially when his toddler with a sweet tooth was quickly becoming more and more energetic, and the meeting ended without a favorable result.

Their appetizers had just arrived when Draco frowned at his right wrist. He discreetly pulled out his wand and tapped the face of his watch.

“Is everything alright?” Hermione took a bite of her salad and stared at the watch.

Draco looked up and nodded. “It’s an Auror thing. One of the Hogwarts alums thought it would be easier to pass messages through our watches instead of sending patronuses or owls every time we need to communicate.”

“Oh, it’s a variation of a protean charm. Seems a little annoying that you can’t escape work all the time.” Hermione grimaced, wondering which DA member in the Auror corps could have used her idea to keep Aurors responsible even when they weren’t working.

Giving a faint smile, Draco took a sip of wine. “At least it’s not burned into my skin this time.”

Hermione blinked at the casual reference to his Dark Mark. He seemed to be more open than he had been at the hospital, but he was still putting up a small wall behind his eyes. She didn’t know how she could tell, but there was a slightly guarded look to his eyes. The last time she had seen it completely open was that first day of Eighth Year. She had finally remembered after thinking about it for the past week. He tilted his head with a confused look and tapped his watch again.

“I’m sorry, Hermione. One of my Auror partners needs to speak with me for a second, and they’re currently outside the restaurant. Would you excuse me for five minutes?” He gave her a regretful look as he stowed his wand away.

She waved her salad fork. “Of course not. I hope you don’t mind if I continue eating, I didn’t have time for lunch today.” Hermione sheepishly picked at her salad.

Draco smirked. “Well I can’t have you starving. Feel free to have them move on to the next course if you finish early. I’m not the biggest fan of salads anyways. The Boeuf Bourguignon is the highlight of the meal besides the chocolate cake.” He rose out of his seat, buttoning his jacket as he went.

Hermione watched him gracefully weave between tables and turned back to her salad. For a thank you dinner, it was going pretty well. It was also going pretty well if it was a date. She was focusing on being pleasant and thinking of the Draco she healed instead of the Malfoy from before the war. No, this was a Draco who she had been curious about and intrigued by since that first day of their Eighth Year. She quickly ate her salad and indicated to the server that he could take her plate and Draco’s. Deciding to mind her manners, she asked for the server to return with their next course once Draco came back.

She checked her watch. It had been about ten minutes since had stepped out. Maybe it had been something important? Hermione decided to pass the time by mentally working on the arithmancy equations from earlier. The equation just wasn’t balancing no matter what adjustments she made to the potion in her mind. There had to be something she was missing, but what was it?

“Excuse me, Mademoiselle?” She looked up to find her server giving her a pitying look. “The restaurant is closing in 15 minutes. I can package up the rest of your meal if you would like it.”

Hermione blinked and realized that the room was close to empty. Her watch read fifteen minutes to eleven. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I lost track of time. Could you bring me the bill?” She cringed a little inside at the thought of how much the meal might be.

He frowned at her. “Your partner has already paid. Would you like me to make two separate packages?”

Draco had already paid? And then vanished? Without a word? Hermione shook her head. “One package with everything together would be lovely, thank you.”

“Of course, just one moment.”

At least she would be getting her free dinner. Harry should still be awake, so they could enjoy the food while she told him about her evening. Maybe there really was a work emergency? But he managed to pay and not tell her he was abandoning her? Hermione tapped her fingers on the table as she thought. Surely, he could’ve sent a patronus or something? She sighed and stood up as the server was coming back to her with an enormous bag of food. Even if it was hours late, at least she would be able to enjoy eating her dinner.


	5. Some Concern

“Wards,” muttered Draco as he pushed back from the dining table and ran out of the room. He could hear Theo dropping his fork mid-bite and grabbing his wand behind him. They raced down the stairs and out the front door. Draco focused on the North East point of the property, where the wards indicated someone was trying to cross through. He felt a cold sensation running down his back and knew Theo was disillusioning them. No one could see them through the wards, but it was probably best to be prepared. The grass under their feet quickly gave way to gravel and he threw a muffling charm on their feet, as they could see a figure rapping on the wards.

Draco pulled to a stop and caught his breath as he studied the man in front of them. He had sandy hair and was standing with an obvious slouch. The man took a break from touching the wards, which caused pain to anyone not keyed into them, and glared as if he knew Draco and Theo were standing on the other side.

He heard a soft tap, indicating that Theo had tapped his wand to his watch. The man outside the wards glanced at his own watch and rolled his eyes. “If you idiots would just key me in, you would know it was me.” The man went back to poking the wards and muttered about what good were friends if they can’t even tell who you are or know your magical signature.

Draco noticed the amber eyes precisely shaped like Blaise’s and breathed a sigh of relief. The three of them had made a pact that whenever they wore glamours that they would always keep their eyes unless they saw each other change them. Also, the sandy hair of the man was identical to the disguise Blaise had worn the previous week.

He sighed and waved his wand in a few intricate patterns to key in Blaise’s magical signature. The man stumbled through after a particular forceful poke and caught himself. Theo removed the disillusionment charms, and Draco raised an eyebrow at his disguised friend. “You couldn’t send a message instead? Scared us nearly half to death. I think Theo might’ve choked on his lunch.”

Blaise grinned as he raised his wand to remove the glamour. “I like to keep you two on your toes. Who knows how much you’ve relaxed since you’re staying on a Malfoy property?”

The crunch of gravel indicated that Theo had already started making his way back towards the Malfoy Cliffhouse and canceled the spells on their feet.

By the time the three friends had made it back into the dining room, Blaise had caught them up on how his previous mission had ended and Robards had sent him to join them on their last mission before promotions. “He didn’t give me any details. Brief me.” Blaise gracefully dropped into a seat at the dining table and winked at the elf who gave him his own portion of pasta. “Thank you, Misty.”

Draco caught Misty’s fond expression and shook his head. “Don’t flirt with my house elf, Blaise. The mission is surveillan—”

“Nope. It’s pasta and lunchtime. Theodore is clearly about to bite your head off if you interrupt his meal again. I can already tell that he cooked this meal, and it smells delicious. It needs to be savored, especially if this is a blasted surveillance mission. Which it definitely is because neither of you have contacted me in a week. Brief me on your date with the Gryffindor princess.” Blaise took a bite of his pasta and raised an eyebrow.

“It didn’t exactly go to plan.” Draco took a sip of his gillywater. “Theo kidnapped me at the beginning of dinner, and I only had time to pay for the meal and drop off a note for Granger. Then he portkeyed me here as soon I went back out the door.”

“Really? You couldn’t tell her in person that you were being sent away? A note?” Blaise groaned and glared at Theo.

“Hey, he took his sweet time coming out of the restaurant. Robards had given me a portkey that was set to leave in seven minutes, and Draco was off in muggle London so I couldn’t exactly apparate to his table. He was lucky to have the time to pay the bill and give the waiter a message before it went off,” retorted Theo.

“I did tell her there was a work emergency and apologized. I also said I would love to make it up to her when I got back.” Draco muttered into his pasta. “It’s not my fault Robards wanted to make this mission as secretive as possible.”

Blaise sighed and put his fork down. “Thank goodness. I thought all of us would be single forever. I mean, I should be single forever. But clearly you need to catch your Gryffindor princess, and Theo needs to grovel to get back into Daphne’s good books.”

The Nott heir glowered across the table. “I’m going to ignore that comment until after the mission is over.”

They discussed a few other tidbits about their other friends before Blaise set his fork down. “Okay, so what’s going on. Why are we in Guernsey of all places? And why are we in a Malfoy house that’s about a quarter the size of your other properties?”

Draco flashed a smirk. “It’s actually about the same size as our other properties if you count the coastline and private beach.” His mouth twisted into a flat line. “It’s surveillance. There was a flash of weird magic on this island a couple weeks ago, and Robards decided we needed more experience in surveillance before our promotion. We haven’t found anything for the past week, so we’ve just been scoping out the island.”

He took another sip of his gillywater. “We’re staying here because it’s mainly a muggleborn and half-blood community that grew during the war. We need to keep a low profile, and the Cliffhouse is extensively warded and no one on the island should be aware of it. I’ve only been here once before, and the family has rarely used it.”

“The report’s in the study. We should do a review.” Theo pushed back from the table and Blaise quickly got up to follow him.

Draco took a moment to close his eyes. He stuffed the memory of Hermione in that blue dress that fit her like a glove back behind his dedicated Granger walls. It had slipped out when Blaise had asked about the aborted date. He needed to focus on the mission right now. The sooner it ended, the sooner he could see her. Hopefully she understood about work emergencies.

* * *

Hermione popped the last slice of decadent chocolate cake into her mouth as she made her way towards the Research ward, reveling in the glory of waking up early enough to snag the last piece before Harry had woken up. The late afternoon sunlight filtered through the windows, and the corridors were quieter on Saturdays.

As soon as the pair had had a taste of the chocolate cake last Saturday night, they had immediately rationed it to last a week and the day’s ration went to whoever woke up the earliest. There had been a couple pediatric emergencies early in the week, so Harry had managed to snag more than his fair share. Hermione was just glad she could enjoy the last piece. If she had been abandoned before a maybe-date really started, at least she got to eat cake.

She wondered again if there had been an emergency. Would Malfoy show up and apologize or ignore her? It had been a week without a single peep from the former Slytherin. Maybe they would go back to the civil formalities of Eighth Year if they ran into each other in Diagon Alley. She doubted they would go back to the odd friendliness of last Saturday evening.

Hermione passed the main Research ward rooms and checked to make sure no one else was in the corridor. She pushed open the door to find Daphne and Harry in a small room and two cauldrons simmering in stasis charms in front of them. The blonde looked up and laughed softly. “Congratulations on snagging the last piece of chocolate cake.” She raised her wand to get rid of the frosting in the corner of Hermione’s lips.

“I wonder if the restaurant will sell us just the cake? Or, allow takeout with a steep discount.” Harry looked forlornly out the window as if he could see the restaurant.

“We can call and ask, Harry.” Hermione laughed.

“At least the ferret gave us enough French food to last both of our lunches and dessert for the week. I don’t know how you could’ve eaten all of that at the restaurant if he had stayed with you, Hermione.”

Daphne frowned and tapped her wand to the table. “Again, it is really unlike Draco to abandon you without a note or message. He didn’t seem all the different the last time I saw him at the Parkinson’s New Year’s Eve Party.” Shuddering, her voice changed into the aristocratic tone belonging to a pureblood heiress. “I cannot wait for Narcissa Malfoy to come back to Great Britain even if it means Lucius Malfoy is released from Azkaban. Her parties were much more elegant and well organized. Honestly, the state of things nowadays. Astoria somehow managed to stay in Paris and it was a terrible evening. There’s also absolutely no inspiration in that house, at least Draco’s manor has decent architecture and pretty people to draw.”

Harry laughed. “I forget you run in that circle sometimes, Greengrass.”

Cracking a smile, Hermione pulled her notes out of her satchel. “He did manage to find the time to pay the bill. Maybe he remembered he was talking to a muggleborn.”

“No, that’s definitely not it. I’m sure something came up.” Daphne blushed as she realized she had slipped into her pureblood heiress desires.

“It’s been a week without a note. Honestly if he owls me in the future, I’m not going to reply unless it’s a promise of more free fancy French food.” Hermione shrugged and looked at her notes. “Any progress with this?”

They had been sneaking in hours here and there over the past week individually to work on Alex’s odd case in the empty room. It wasn’t exactly a lab room, but it had a few desks that trainees used to use to study for exams in between their rotations. Even though the boy had been discharged earlier that week, the three were curious if there could be a better solution. If an adult had the same symptoms as Alex, it would be too dangerous to give that many core replenishing potions at once.

Daphne shook her head, but Harry’s expression narrowed. “I managed to get a copy of Alex’s first notes when he was admitted. He had been feeling poorly while he was at his grandparents’ house for vacation. They think he got the flu or a very bad cold, but he seemed to be recovering. But when they got back home a couple weeks later, his symptoms came back. His parents were confused and decided to check him into St. Mungo’s in case it was anything serious.”

Hermione blinked. “The flu? It’s summer right now.”

“That’s what his parents said. It’s very uncommon but it can happen. His grandparents are also muggleborn, so they just gave him muggle medicine” Harry grimaced. “Do we have any cold or influenza samples? Maybe that would affect the potion?”

Daphne nodded. “There are a couple strains from last year in the Research Ward’s storage.” She cast a few protection charms on the three of them before calling out an _accio_. The small dishes floated over to Hermione. “Here you go, they would get destroyed if I touched them. Muggle diseases have never affected me.”

Carefully taking the samples in her gloved hand, Hermione took the lid off of the one for the common cold. She motioned for Harry to release the stasis spells on the cauldrons and levitated the sample over the nearest cauldron.

The potion began to bubble ominously, and Harry pushed them both back towards the door before calling out “ _Protego”_ seconds before the cauldron exploded with a loud boom that shook the building.

* * *

If she had met President Marlon before her fifth year, Hermione would’ve been very intimidated by the man. As terrible as she had been, Umbridge had gotten Hermione over her fear and respect for politicians and people in power. President Marlon was a handsome wizard in his fifties. His dark green robes were neatly pressed, and his salt and pepper hair was neatly combed. She usually saw him with a smile, whether it was at large events to entice donors or meeting Heads of wards to discuss unnecessary budget cuts.

He wasn’t smiling right now. “Would anyone care to explain why a room in the Research Ward is without a ceiling or outer wall?”

No one said a word.

“Because from my understanding, it looks like three Junior Healers were working on a dangerous potion in a room that was not one of the sanctioned brewing labs. A potion that they were told to stop working on.” His dark eyes glowered at them, and they continued to stay quiet.

“Three months suspension without pay,” he declared. Hermione’s jaw actually dropped at that. Three months?

Beside her, Daphne put on her best pureblood princess smile. “Three months seems like a long time, sir. The hospital is already lean on staff at the moment. The three of us have important roles that are very integrated into our respective wards. With all due respect, this will impact the performance and profitability of the hospital.”

President Marlon raised an eyebrow. “You destroyed a perfectly fine room without permission, and you’re saying you have important roles in your wards?”

Harry put on his Prophet smile. “But sir, it was an empty room that no one uses anymore.” Hermione almost elbowed him for his cheekiness but restrained herself.

“Mr. Potter, the whole hospital heard the explosion and there is glass all over the gardens right now. We had to call special services to verify that there was nothing dangerous released. Not to mention the extra funds that are required to rebuild the room. Just because it was empty does not mean we can have a crater in our hospital.”

Hermione winced and conceded that he did have a point. His thunderous expression suddenly relaxed and he got a gleam in his eyes. “How interesting. We have two of the Golden Trio and the Healer with the highest potions score ever admitted to St. Mungo’s.” With a glance at her friend, who had scored one point higher than her, Hermione saw Daphne staring back at the man with a bit of a challenging look in her eyes.

President Marlon tapped his desk for a few seconds before looking at his calendar. “Let me see, three months. Perfect amount of time, especially since I have a meeting with a few foundations Monday morning.” He stood up with the familiar smile on his face again. “We’ll just have you three take a small vacation.”

The three Junior Healers looked at each other in confusion. Hermione had a feeling she was not going to like what their President was going to suggest next.


	6. Coincidence

Theo dropped into a seat in the small study, causing Draco and Blaise to look up from their notes. They had spent the rest of the weekend narrowing down points of interest. It wasn’t possible for them to stakeout any particular locations without having an idea of where to start.

“Did you set everything up?” Draco pulled out a large piece of parchment that had been charmed to keep track of the different devices that could pick up the strange magic. It currently looked like a map of the island with a few small circles.

“It’s the best I could do given the circumstances,” replied Theo. He tapped his wand to the parchment and glowing circles appeared where he had placed a few devices. “The people here are pretty welcoming, so I just pretended like I was on vacation and asked about places to visit. Someone mentioned that the island might be off schedule today and tomorrow.”

“Is something happening?” wondered Blaise as he stood up and stretched his neck.

Theo nodded and pointed a finger at a building near the center of the island. “Apparently the local apothecary is run by a retired Healer, and the island tends to get by unless they have to floo to St. Mungo’s if there’s a serious illness. The woman I asked for directions told me that there were some Healers from St. Mungo’s who are going to run a clinic for a few months for some reason. A lot of people are trying to go early to get an appointment and an initial health checkup in case they require an operation that they can schedule before they leave.”

Draco checked his watch and noticed it was half past four. “I don’t think we have a tracker near the apothecary. If a lot of people are going tomorrow, we should scope it out carefully. Maybe all of us should go in case there are a fair number of people right now. I think we could all stretch our legs.”

“Do we glamour any injuries as an excuse?” Blaise was already waving his wand to change his hair.

Shaking his head, Theo copied his actions. “They should be closing soon, so I don’t think we should do anything too drastic. I don’t think there will be time for us to actually be seen. We should just set up the tracking device, and maybe take a look around.” Ever the professional, Theo added a few inches to his height.

Draco cast a ward over their notes out of habit before adjusting his own appearance. He just darkened his blond hair, rounded his face, and cast a temporary tan on himself. Changing his eyes always made them water for a few minutes, so he decided to forgo that particular glamour. Throwing on a casual set of robes, he looked at the map to double check the coordinates before apparating with a soft pop.

He heard two pops behind him, as he landed next to a coffee shop down the street from the apothecary. A man was waiting outside the door of the apothecary, but the street itself was fairly empty for a late summer afternoon, with just a few people going in and out of shops. Draco made his way towards the building, knowing that Theo was behind him and that Blaise would join them after setting up the tracking device close to the apothecary. He was the fastest with setting up devices for tracking magical signatures. The man waiting in front of him sneezed, and Draco grimaced, hoping he wouldn’t catch anything.

An old man opened the door just as Blaise had joined the line behind Theo. “Oh, there’s four left. Come inside, I’ll just write a note to say that we’re closed for the day.” The three Aurors shared a look of disappointment at the realization that there wouldn’t be a large amount of people to check the signatures of.

Two young women were chatting behind the counter as they went through the store towards the back. Well, the redhead was talking incessantly about some gossip while her brunette friend was nodding along.

The retired Healer ushered them through the store and to a back room. They were just entering as a laughing Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass were coming out of the room. “Oh, Mr. Jenkins. We were just going to grab a few things from the storage room. We didn’t realize there were more patients.” Potter turned back to stick his head in the door. “Do you want us to stay and help out?”

“That’s okay, Harry. It would be quicker if you and Daphne could grab the extra supplies. I’ll wait for you if there’s anything I can’t handle by myself. I promise,” called a familiar voice. A voice that belonged to Hermione Granger. Draco looked at his friends and silently groaned. Theo was looking at Daphne and Potter walking away with a blank look, a sign that he was focused on occluding. An amused Blaise smirked and committed to his slouch even more. For Salazar’s sake, he was going to have to bring out the firewhisky tonight and he had hoped to not need it this mission. Not enough to get drunk on the mission, but just enough to deal with today’s events.

He sat in one of the chairs along the wall that Jenkins had indicated, and watched as Granger smiled at the man who had been in front of them. “Hello, is there anything in particular I can help you out with today?” She pulled out her wand to cast a diagnostic. “It looks like you have the sniffles or a cold?”

Draco tapped a frozen Theo on the arm and gestured towards his watch with his finger. His friend blinked before nodding, discreetly putting his hand in his pocket and starting to set up another tracking device while Granger was distracted. He sat up in his chair to study her. She was in pale blue robes that suited her much better than the bright green robes he had seen on her at St. Mungo’s. Her hair was in a tight bun, but she was brushing back a few loose strands as she listened to the patient.

“Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a muggle disease. I’m a half-blood, so I haven’t had any major problems. I just thought I would check because I heard about the clinic today.” The man’s voice sounded nasally, and his eyes were watering with the effort to hold back a sneeze.

“It’s not uncommon for half-bloods to have muggle diseases. I’m afraid we’re out of some of the potions we could offer you to help, but we should have a good stock the day after tomorrow. I would suggest some muggle over the counter medications in the meantime.” Granger cancelled the diagnostic and handed him a pen and notebook. “Could you please fill in your name and address? I can use it to make a patient file for future reference.” She grabbed another notepad and wrote a few words before tearing it off and handing it to the man. “I’m very sorry, we came very last minute, and this morning’s patients bought all of Mr. Jenkins’s stock on some of the more common potions. In the meantime, make sure you get lots of rest and have lots of fluids. Please come in again if it gets any worse.”

The man thanked her with a smile before walking out of the room with a large sneeze.

Granger tilted her head as she looked at the three of them, and Draco felt his breath catch. “You’re all cutting it rather close, aren’t you?” He could feel Theo and Blaise freeze beside him, before she continued with a grin, “It’s five to five. I hope none of you have anything serious for me to take care of.”

Draco managed to open his mouth before Blaise could let loose a snort or stick his foot in his mouth. “No, nothing serious. I apologize for coming so late, but we’re from out of town and didn’t know that the apothecary closed at five. We can come back tomorrow.” He stood up, but Hermione beckoned him forwards to sit in the chair opposite her.

“No worries, I’m sure tomorrow will be just as busy,” laughed Granger. She met his eyes and looked a little confused. Shaking her head, she cast a diagnostic spell and studied it. “You’re right, there’s nothing serious. You’re perfectly healthy and in very good shape.” This time, Blaise did let out a laugh he tried to cover up with a cough.

Smirking, Draco looked back at her. “I like to exercise.”

Nodding, Granger glanced over at the disguised Blaise. “Your friend on the other hand seems to have a tickle in his throat and terrible posture. I don’t know if I can fix all of that today.”

Draco bit his cheek to hold back his own laugh at that. The door opened to reveal Potter and Daphne coming in carrying various potions ingredients and materials. “Do you want us to help with the others, Hermione?”

Suddenly, Draco felt his watch grow hot and whipped out his wand to tap it. There was no message, so he whirled back to look at Theo and Blaise. Theo also looked confused, but Blaise’s eyes widened and his posture immediately straightened. “It can’t be here if Theo’s isn’t going off, it has to be close by though.” He grabbed Theo’s arm and cast a quick disillusionment charm on them. The only thing to indicate that they had left was the door banging open.

“What’s happening?” Granger was looking at his wrist and then looked up at him. She frowned before she raised an eyebrow. “Malfoy?”

He allowed himself a brief smirk that she was able to recognize him even with a glamour in place, but was a little disappointed that it was Malfoy and not Draco. To be fair, he was still calling her Granger in his mind.

“Malfoy? Hermione, what are you talking about?” Daphne was looking at the two of them with an incredulous look, while Potter looked confused and was still clutching the various bottles of potions ingredients.

Draco quickly cast a silencing charm on the room and warded the door. He removed his glamours and raised his hands. “Hello, I’ll save the pleasantries for later. This is Auror business, and I need you three to cooperate. Is there anyone else here?”

Potter and Granger just blinked, but Daphne shook her head. “Mr. Jenkins went home right after he showed the four of you into the room. His niece, Rosaline, and her friend left for their part time jobs at the bookstore and coffee shop already. _Accio satchels_ ,” she called and a couple waves of her wand had all the supplies in the room soaring into the three satchels at her feet.

He nodded his thanks, impressed by her quick spellwork and thinking. “Okay, I need to apparate you to a safehouse, and I need all of you to stay there until we get back.”

“Is it one of your houses, Draco?” asked Daphne. She shifted the satchels into Potter’s arms before grabbing his elbow and Granger’s hand. The two Gryffindors seemed to be confused by what was happening and weren’t reacting quickly enough.

“Yes, it is, Daph. Misty is there if you want dinner. Standard Malfoy wards are in place, so I really need all of you to stay there until we get back,” ordered Draco, and was glad to see the three of them nod. He positioned his hands so he was touching all three of them before apparating them to the back porch of the property.

Looking at the three Healers, who were in various stages of awareness, he made a quick decision. Could it be coincidence the magic had appeared near Granger and Potter? “You’re in charge, Daph. Code Yellow.” He saw her eyes widen before she gave him a quick nod. Giving a small smile, he quickly disillusioned himself before apparating back to the apothecary.

* * *

Hermione blinked at the spot where Draco Malfoy had just disapparated from. Or, she thought it had been Draco Malfoy. It had been a weird day. Maybe they were all in a coma from the explosion and she had imagined being suspended, sent to Guernsey for the next three months, and being kidnapped by Draco Malfoy.

“What just happened?” Harry also looked confused, as Daphne tugged the satchels out of his grasp. “Someone please tell me we weren’t just kidnapped by Malfoy.

“Oh, Harry. Don’t be silly. Now, help me organize these satchels. You too, Hermione.” The blonde was pulling her hair into a ponytail and taking things out of her satchel. With a wave of her wand, the tables and chairs on the porch cleared to the sides to create a large open space on the wooden planks. She turned her worried but slightly amused blue eyes on them. “If these are your reaction times, I don’t think either of you should be Healers. It makes me wonder how you defeated the darkest wizard of our time.”

Hermione snapped out of it and bent down to help. “I think the circumstances were a little different. Are you sure we can’t apparate to the house we’re supposed to stay at and organize things there?”

Daphne was pulling Harry down and thrust his satchel at him. “We promised Draco we wouldn’t leave. Also, since this is a Malfoy property, we’re not going to be able to leave because Draco didn’t key our signatures into the wards yet. We can only get in and out if we have a Malfoy or someone keyed into the wards with us.” She dug into her satchel and grimaced as she pulled out a vial with a crack in it. “It’s going to take us a while to organize everything, I panicked a little and didn’t pay attention to where I was banishing everything.”

“You think this is dangerous? I don’t even know what happened,” muttered Harry, as he dutifully began to take materials out of his own satchel.

“Draco did say it was Auror business, and I doubt the Aurors would send one of their best recruits to Guernsey for a simple case.” Daphne hesitated before murmuring, “He also said it was Code Yellow, which means it’s very important. Now, that does make me nervous.”

Hermione groaned when she found her notes from the day’s appointments sticky with the remnants of a vial of Dreamless Sleep. She set about cleaning the mess. “What’s Code Yellow?”

Daphne leaned back and looked towards the vast lawn that ended in a cliff meeting the ocean. Her eyes looked beyond the horizon, as if she were in a different time. She cleared her throat before speaking softly, “We had codes in Slytherin, and Draco even came up with one in fourth year. Code Violet was his way of asking for help to avoid Pansy.” A small smile flashed on her face. “He used it a lot after the Yule Ball. Another one we used was Code Red, for when we found other houses bullying the first years. We didn’t use it that often except for sixth year.”

Wincing, Hermione knew what she was talking about. The fights in school had always been between the Slytherins and other houses, but their sixth year had had a fair amount of angered upper years lashing out at the first years. Hermione mirrored Daphne’s pose and leaned against the frame of the porch before taking in their surroundings. She could hear the water crashing against the cliffs, and she focused on a small garden right next to the porch before the backyard stretched into a green expanse that could have easily held a quidditch pitch.

Taking a deep breath, Daphne continued. “Code Yellow was for serious problems, and it meant that all of us should stay in the dungeons and not come out. The prefects used it during our second year, when the Chamber of Secrets was opened, and our third year, when Sirius Black had reportedly broken into the castle. The last person to enforce it was Draco, actually. That was the night Dumbledore died. He used it right after dinner, and all of us were so confused until we found out what happened. He said he didn’t want anyone else getting hurt and tried to get those who knew people in other houses to spread the word to stay in their common rooms.”

Hermione blinked. The trials and Dumbledore’s memories had changed their perspectives of Draco Malfoy when it came to that particular night, but it was a little strange to hear Daphne talk about it nervously. It had been a while since any of them had thought of the war.

Harry sighed. “Well that’s concerning, if he used a code he only ever used when the Death Eaters were in Hogwarts.” He continued to organize the supplies. “Do you think he’ll be back soon?”

“Who knows. We should organize the rest of our supplies in case we have to move soon,” replied Daphne before digging her arm back into her satchel.

They spent the next two hours organizing their bags and softly discussing the different patients they had seen that day. They had just finished when they realized the sun was about to set, and there was still no sign of Draco Malfoy. Harry’s stomach gave a loud growl and he grimaced. “Didn’t Malfoy say something about dinner?”

Daphne gasped, “Misty!” A loud pop and a house elf in a neat pillowcase appeared on one of the benches in the corner. “Oh, it is so lovely to see you again.”

The house elf smiled and curtsied. “Hello Miss Greengrass. Misty hasn’t seen you for a very very long time. I is aware that Master Draco has left you all here for now. Can Misty be inviting you in for dinner?”

“That would be wonderful, thank you.” Daphne turned to the two former Gryffindors. “Misty’s been Draco’s elf since he was little. She used to turn up at Hogwarts with chocolates for us.”

Harry grinned and swung his satchel over his shoulder, as he followed the house elf inside. “At least we won’t starve during our imprisonment.”

* * *

Draco found himself staggering as he apparated into the back room of the apothecary. He shouldn’t have done so many apparations in quick succession, especially after he apparated three adults to his house. By the time he had made it back to the apothecary, Theo and Blaise had already swept the street, but didn’t find any evidence other than the instrument Blaise had set up by the coffee shop recording an instance of the magic they had been tasked with finding the cause of. It was a pity that they hadn’t set up the devices that was actually able to retain the magic. They had also found a list of people who had visited the apothecary with addresses. Without anything to go on, they had decided it would be worth it to place more tracking devices near people’s homes that were out of range of the ones they had already placed. It might be coincidence that the flare of odd magic happened in the presence of three Healers from St. Mungo’s, two of whom were war heroes, but they decided to err on the side of caution.

Theo popped into the office and looked at Draco with a slightly flat look. “Anything else?”

“We just need to wait for Blaise. I think we should call it a night, there’s nothing more we can do right now. We’re also supposed to be undercover, and I don’t think we have a good enough idea of where to start gathering more evidence.” Draco collected the rest of their materials and made sure the room was organized.

Another pop indicated Blaise had apparated into the actual storefront. The door opened. “Can we eat dinner?” The slump in his posture didn’t look forced anymore.

Draco could feel an enormous headache begin to pound and closed his eyes. “Daphne, Granger, and Potter are at the Cliffhouse right now. I don’t think we can have them go anywhere tonight in case they are being targeted by the odd magic. We’re going to have a civil dinner, debrief the day, have one glass of firewhisky each, and then figure things out in the morning. I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with any of this right now. Theo, I’ll stupefy you for a few minutes if you can do the same for me. Blaise, behave.”

He opened his eyes to see his friends looking worriedly at him. It wasn’t often Draco revealed his exhaustion or pain to his friends, but he was so tired from the amount of magic he had used that day, and his hastily fortified occlumency walls had begun to grate on him as soon as he had apparated from the Cliffhouse.

“No problem, Draco. Although, I do hope you have the good firewhisky,” chirped Blaise.

Draco managed a weak smirk. “If you doubt my collection, I’m going to tell Misty not to let you near alcohol for the rest of the mission.” He focused and apparated onto the back porch of the Cliffhouse. He felt his Malfoy upbringing kick in as he removed his glamours, and took the time to cast the spells to press his robes and organize his hair before Theo and Blaise apparated into the backyard. He sent them both another look to behave before he opened the door. They made their way through the large living room and kitchen before opening the door to the dining room.

Granger and Potter both jumped, but Daphne managed a small smile at Draco. Her smile slid off of her face when she caught sight of who was behind him. “Draco,” she said in a formal tone, “how lovely of you to join us for dinner. Misty’s cooked a feast for us.”

He nodded and gracefully sat in the head seat they had left empty. Misty popped in to arrange three more settings before disappearing again. “I’m glad you’re enjoying your dinner. Is your family well?” It was taking all of Draco’s formal training and experience from awkward dinner parties when he was younger to stay focused, as he surveyed the table. Theo was sitting at the other end of the table from Daphne, and was robotically filling his plate. From how hard he seemed to be occluding, Draco wouldn’t be surprised if he had to keep Theo unconscious for more than a few minutes.

Potter was scarfing down a large portion of the roast beef while looking confused. Blaise looked like he was on the verge of making a comment, and Daphne was steadfastly sipping her wine while answering Draco’s question. Something about Astoria working with a designer in Paris. Granger was glaring at him, seemingly unconsciously, and Draco wondered if he had done something wrong. Maybe she was still upset that he had left their dinner so suddenly? It really was bad manners to give a note to the servers instead of telling her directly. He resolved to figure that out once the case was over. He really just wanted Theo to help him get rid of this headache as quickly as possible, but he somehow managed to eat and make the necessary small talk. The conversation trailed off in a few minutes, and silence surrounded the table for exactly two minutes before Blaise couldn’t control himself any longer.

“Well, this is awkward,” he quipped into his salad.

Draco managed to scoop the last bit of food left on his plate and stood up, focusing on the clock on the wall instead of anyone at the table. “I’m terribly sorry about my manners, but it’s been a long day. Welcome to the Malfoy Cliffhouse. It is extensively warded even if no one’s been here for at least a decade. We have to review some reports tonight and check on a few things. I think it would be best if the three of you stayed here tonight, and we should have a better understanding in the morning. We are in three bedrooms on the second floor, and I can have Misty arrange three bedrooms on the third floor. Is there anything you need?”

Daphne patted her mouth with a napkin before replying, “We have everything we need with us. This was a last minute trip decided by St. Mungo’s, so we traveled directly to the apothecary this morning. There is a house that’s been provided for us, but I suppose we can wait if you think it’s dangerous.”

“Last minute?” Draco looked at Theo, who was eating thoughtfully before giving a quick shrug. “That might make it simpler, but I still want to check on a few things once Blaise and Theo are finished eating. We can discuss what happens at breakfast. I think eight should give us enough to make decisions in case it is not safe to go back to the apothecary.”

Granger and Potter both nodded at Daphne, who smiled. “That would be good for us, the apothecary opens at nine, and we’re supposed to be seeing patients at ten. If there’s something wrong, we would have the time to notify Mr. Jenkins.”

“That sounds good. You’re free to explore the property if you so wish, the wards extend down to the low tide mark and the gravel changes colors rather abruptly where the wards are placed in the front. Blaise, Theo, come up to the study whenever you’re done eating. Have a good evening, everyone.” Draco strode out of the dining room before calling for Misty and asking her to bring a bottle of firewhisky to the study. He might need more than a glass tonight. He heard Theo’s footsteps quickly following him and sighed. Make that two bottles.

* * *

Draco woke up feeling better at seven in the morning. It had been a long night of going through reports and releasing occlumency shields. The three Aurors had been too exhausted to do anything else, and they made the decision to set alarms on the map containing the tracking devices and before heading to bed. His headache had disappeared, but he decided he should take the time to fully reorganize everything if he wanted to stay sane. If Granger was going to be on the same island, and possibly the same house as him, for a longer period of time, he needed to make a few changes.

Throwing on a pair of shorts and a soft long-sleeved t-shirt, both guilty pleasures he had discovered during Auror training, he thought of where he should go to meditate. The early morning sunlight filtered through his windows, and he thought of the last time he had been at the Cliffhouse with a grin. If things hadn’t changed too much, he knew the perfect place.


	7. Space

Hermione woke up at six like clockwork, but it took her a while to realize why she wasn’t in her own bed. Suspension. Guernsey. Malfoy. Malfoy’s house. Quickly sitting up and stretching her neck, she looked around at the room.

It was easily double the size of her room in Grimmauld Place, which was already quite large. She had her own bathroom, a large bed with lilac sheets, an armchair where her satchel lived for now next to a small table, and a large window with a window seat. It overlooked the backyard and gave a fantastic view of the sea.

She wasn’t hungry yet, so she washed her face and changed into the clothes she would wear under her blue robes again. Even though they were working, they were still technically suspended and had had to turn in their bright green Healer robes as soon as President Marlon had finished making arrangements. It wasn’t a huge concession on Hermione’s part.

Picking up a novel, Hermione sat at the window seat and admired the view. It was a beautiful house and a beautiful place to spend their first night. She wondered if the house St. Mungo’s had provided for them would be half as idyllic. It would be

A figure was walking along the edge of the cliff with their head down. She could see blond hair, and assumed it was Malfoy based on how quickly he was walking. Daphne never rushed unless there was a patient involved. He suddenly disappeared, feet going over the edge before his head also disappeared.

Hermione jumped up from her seat. Did he fall or jump? Maybe he slipped on the wet morning grass? He definitely hadn’t apparated. Quickly grabbing her wand, she rushed out of her room, and managed to find her way through the house before running across the backyard.

It really was as big as a quidditch pitch, and she could feel a stitch developing in her side. Her feet were quickly covered in bits of grass, and she was sliding due to the morning dew, but she somehow found herself panting at the edge of the cliff. It seemed to go straight down on to a strip of sand maybe fifty meters down. There was no body from what she could see.

Hermione edged along the cliff towards where she thought she had seen Malfoy. The edge curved inwards, and she could see a larger beach below. All of a sudden, she could see a staircase that had been built into the cliff itself, narrow steps leading to the beach below. A wooden railing ran along the side of the stairs not based in the cliff.

Malfoy hadn’t slipped to his death, thank goodness. She could see a pair of footprints in the sand and quickly spelled her feet clean and dry. If it was Auror business, he probably would’ve erased his footprints, she thought as she made her way down the stairs. She wasn’t going to look for him, why would she be looking for him? Besides, she had wanted to see the beach. What if this was her only chance this summer?

Hermione quickly made her way down the staircase, and looked to where the footsteps led. They veered away from the wider beach and continued along a narrow strip of sand. Malfoy’s footprints were close enough together to show that he wasn’t running, but his strides seemed purposeful. She followed them with her wand out, just in case. Even if she wasn’t looking for him, it wouldn’t hurt to find out where he was.

The morning sun was making itself known, as Hermione found herself at the entrance of a shallow cave with Malfoy sitting in the middle with his eyes closed. His hair was uncharacteristically ruffled, and he was wearing a worn t-shirt and shorts. This was the last thing she had expected to see that morning. He didn’t move, even as Hermione quietly made her way into the cave. His posture was relaxed, and he could have been meditating or even sleeping if it wasn’t for the small furrow between his brows. It was nice to see him like this, almost peaceful. He didn’t seem like a man to ditch a dinner or ignore her throughout their next dinner the night before. She decided to sit on the ground a few meters away from him, and silently cast a drying charm on the damp sand.

* * *

Draco opened his eyes with a small smile. It had been so long since he had dismantled every single one of his occlumency walls. He had just let out the memory of Granger in her Yule Ball dress, and it hadn’t been on his mind since the first day of eighth year. It was as if the scent of vanilla was filling the small cave. Shuddering, he let the memory wash over him with guilty pleasure for a few seconds. His eyes slipped shut as he slowly opened his Granger box and began to feed the memory back inside.

“Malfoy?”

His eyes snapped open and he turned his head to see Granger with curious caramel eyes staring back at him. She was biting her lip, and her hair was tumbling over her shoulders. She was beautiful and ridiculously unattainable. At least to him.

“Fuck,” he whispered and squeezed his eyes shut, frantically trying to rebuild his walls quickly. He was reaching for the first memory of her by the beech trees, but he faltered when he heard her speak.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?” Her words left her in a rush, and he opened his eyes to see a furiously blushing Granger cringing. The image instantly burned in his mind, and he had to give up on stuffing her back behind occlumency walls. She seemed embarrassed by her words, and he was confused.

Draco tilted his head and managed to meet her eyes, and carefully replied, “I left a note with the waiter when I paid the bill. Did you not get it?”

She blinked. “No?”

He made a mental note to never go back to the restaurant again. He was going to have find better French food. “Theo nearly kidnapped me on the spot for this case via portkey. I had just enough time to pay the bill and drop a note off saying I had a work emergency, and that I would love to make up the dinner to you when I got back. I’ve been here ever since.”

“Oh,” she whispered, before pursing her lips. “And you didn’t think it odd I didn’t owl you a reply afterwards to confirm I got it?”

Draco shook his head, and managed to relax his shoulders slightly. “This is a surveillance mission, and I’m not allowed to contact others not involved in the case. The only thing I can use is the Auror watch unless there’s an emergency. And as terrible as I felt about abandoning you at the table, Head Auror Robards would not consider leaving a woman in the middle of appetizers as an emergency. I was just hoping you would understand three months later.”

Her eyes widened. “Three months?”

“Surveillance cases run for three months unless there are any developments. If things aren’t solved by then, we bring in more Aurors or call it off.” Draco cleared his throat, “I apologize for the confusion. I was enjoying our evening so far, and I hope you’ll forgive me for it.”

Hermione shook her head and gave a small smile. “It’s fine. I’m sorry I spent the past week judging you for it and my horrible behavior last night.”

Returning the smile, Draco said, “I still owe you a dinner, and last night doesn’t count. I also had terrible manners last night. Did you have any trouble after dinner? I did bring all of you here rather suddenly without explaining anything properly.”

“The house and grounds are so beautiful. You don’t come here often?”

He smirked, and shook his head. “I came here once before Hogwarts, but Mother and Father preferred taking holidays at our properties abroad. This one was too close to home for Father’s tastes.” Draco gestured to the sea in front of them. “I did like this property when I was younger, though. It’s a quiet place, and the ocean always calms me. It’s not the grandest place I’ve been, but I think it is one of my favorites.”

* * *

Hermione listened to him talk about the house and could see a hint of the man who had been sitting on her operating table. He was open and speaking directly to her. She had seen it only once before. He raised an eyebrow, and she realized he had asked her a question. “Sorry?”

“I asked you how you found me here?”

Shooting him a smirk, she replied, “I followed your footsteps. I don’t think you’re a very effective Auror.”

Malfoy shrugged. “It has the standard Malfoy wards, and there isn’t anything I should be afraid of here. Although, there’s always you, Granger.” He gracefully stood up from where he had been sitting and sauntered over closer to her with another smirk.

“Why were you on the beach at such an early hour, anyways? I can assume you got up early because you probably have early shifts, but there’s no way you would have been comfortable exploring a Malfoy property by yourself and it’s not possible to see the staircase until you’re right at the edge of the cliffs. If you were just going for a morning stroll, you would have gone the other direction towards the wider beach. So, tell me Granger, how did your pretty head manage to find me here?”

Hermione could feel her face heat up. “It doesn’t matter.” She was grateful that he merely raised an eyebrow and looked at his watch.

“If you would like breakfast before Blaise and Theo, and Potter from his seemingly bottomless stomach from last night, I suggest you begin to make your way back. I’d rather everyone start eating before we begin to discuss anything.”

“Are you not coming with me?” asked Hermione, stretching her legs out in front of her.

“I’ll go up soon. I just need to gather my thoughts,” replied Malfoy. He sat back down and ran a hand through his hair, before looking at her.

His grey eyes were open, and she remembered the last time she had seen the depths of those grey eyes without any hardness to them.

_It had been the first day of eighth year, and Hermione had been leaning against a tree on the Hogwarts grounds. It was the day before classes were due to start, and she had wanted to finish her book before assignments began to pile up. She had just closed her eyes for a second to relish a late summer breeze before opening her eyes again._

_She hadn’t expected to open them to see a cautious looking Draco Malfoy with open grey eyes that were full of desperation and hope standing in front of her. Hermione had barely gotten over the shock of seeing him in front of her before she was stunned by the litany of apologies spilling from his lips. Apologies that were stunningly detailed and organized, but unorganized as if he was confessing a lifetime of thoughts he could no longer hold back. She had barely found herself whispering her forgiveness that she had already decided on when she had spoken up for him at his trial that June. He had opened his mouth as if to say more before simply nodding and walking back towards the castle._

_It had taken Hermione the rest of the afternoon to sort her thoughts over the encounter, but found herself intrigued by the blond Slytherin. She had wondered if he would speak to her again, but he had been quiet and civil for the rest of the year with a calm mask constantly in place. There had been no sign of those open grey eyes, and they had remained shuttered for the rest of the year._

Now, Hermione studied the man in front of her and realized something as she continued to look at those grey eyes. Grey eyes that widened when she asked, “Have you been occluding?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Yes,” he murmured, looking away from her.

“Why?” She remembered reading a book about the art of occluding during their fifth year when she had tried to figure out how to help Harry with his doomed lessons. It took immense control and focus on separating yourself from strong memories and your emotions, which explained why Harry had never gotten the hang of it. Knowing how taxing it could be and the pain that could come from not doing it perfectly had given her a greater respect for Severus Snape.

Malfoy took a deep breath before answering, “It’s something I did a lot since about fourth year, especially during the war. It’s hard to bring them down when I’ve been relying on them for so long. I use it on cases a lot to focus better on details we might have missed. They cracked a lot yesterday, so I got Theo help me finally break down most of the shields last night.” He looked at her with a sad smile. “I came down here this morning to break down the rest of it and reorganize it. I’m afraid the cracks caused more pain than I remembered, and I became a horrible host last night.”

Hermione frowned at his words, thinking of the first time she had seen the open grey eyes. She could remember the splintered look she had observed through a haze of pain. “Did your occlumency shields crack that night in the Manor?”

Malfoy gave a dry chuckle that was more rasp than laughter. “Granger, you obliterated them.” He paused and wet his lips. “I took them down willingly the first day of eighth year before I apologized, but that was very difficult for me to do.”

“Does it hurt to take them down?”

He pondered over her question for a second before shaking his head. “It doesn’t hurt, but it’s quite overwhelming. It did hurt when they shattered at the Manor, but the five rounds of the cruciatus curse afterwards made me forget about it quickly.”

Swallowing, Hermione looked away from him and focused on her hands that had been nervously twisting the hem of her shirt. “I’m sorry.”

* * *

Draco frowned at her apology and wanted to make her pained expression disappear as quickly as possible. “Enough about that. I just want to rebuild some walls to make sure I’m prepared for this mission. We don’t have a lot of information, so I need to make sure I’m organized.”

Granger nodded and folded her legs. “Do you mind if I watch? I’ve never seen anyone occlude before.”

He hesitated. The scent of vanilla was beginning to overwhelm him, but he didn’t have the control to deny her request. “I doubt you’ll see anything interesting. But if you want to watch, I’m going to ask you that you move a little farther away so that I can focus.” He closed his eyes and could hear her soft footsteps moving towards the back of the small cave.

Draco quickly organized the walls for the more unsavory parts of the war, grisly parts of other cases, and organized his thoughts of the past week so that they would be within easy reach. He paused before gathering more of his Granger thoughts and stuffing them in the usual box. When the memory of the Yule Ball was safely in the box, he pondered over his other memories. He knew he couldn’t box everything up again, especially if the breakfast conversation they would have in a few minutes went the way he thought it would go. He carefully packaged a few key memories, but left behind everything from their first day of Eighth Year up to a few moments ago.

Then, in a moment of weakness or strength, he reached back into the box and took out that memory of the first weekend of Fourth Year. Taking a deep breath, he released it into his mind and let it join the more recent memories of Hermione Granger. He quickly sealed the box and took careful stock of his mind. He could keep his focus. If it caused any problems, he could stuff more memories into the box.

He opened his eyes and looked to where Granger had been observing him with an intrigued look. Standing up, he brushed off the sand that clung to his fingers. “I’m finished. We should have enough time to change our clothes before breakfast.”

Granger also stood up and walked towards him. The scent of vanilla grew stronger. She tilted her head and stared into his eyes, caramel eyes searching for something. “It’s not as strong as before.”

Draco startled both of them with a small laugh that escaped before he could catch it. “Am I that easy to read? That’s quite problematic if I’m on a case.” He had managed to contain his flinch of shock, remembering that the subject of occluded memories and feelings could possibly realize the presence of shields if they were observant enough. And Hermione Granger was definitely observant.

She shook her head and offered a small smile. “It’s just a feeling I have.”

Gesturing for her to leave the cave first, Draco just shook his head. “I didn’t lock you out completely, but I can always fix that later depending on how things go.”

Granger glanced at him and opened her mouth before closing it. She nodded and said, “I think I’ve learned enough of your secrets today. I’ll save my questions for later.”

* * *

Five minutes to eight o’clock found Hermione at the dining table with a cup of tea and on her second piece of toast. Daphne and Blaise had meandered in a few minutes earlier, and she had handed them their requested portions of the newspaper. She was flipping through the main portion of the Daily Prophet and cringed at a photo of herself and Harry from the last St. Mungo’s gala. The fanfare around them had died down in the past year, especially after the Quidditch League scandal, where five teams had rigged games, and the debut of a Wizarding boy band that had caused most of Harry’s fangirls to quickly switch allegiances.

St. Mungo’s had also helped with maintaining privacy, but President Marlon still used the two of them for his benefit. The article touted that two thirds of the Golden trio and a colleague were volunteering for several months and mentioned a fundraising gala scheduled the next month. It would be used to fund future volunteer endeavors by St. Mungo’s.

Daphne was skimming the Society pages while she waited for Hermione to finish with the main articles. She tutted, “The list of people trying to get into the St. Mungo’s gala is appalling. They didn’t time it well, and they’re not sure if you and Harry will attend.”

Harry flopped into the seat across from Daphne, his hair rumpled and his eyes still bleary with sleep. “If Marlon makes us go, I might let it slip that we’re suspended and the papers will have a field day,” he muttered. While Hermione and Daphne had woken up early, Harry had taken the later starts on Guernsey to heart and had been sleeping in. He claimed he was making up sleep for the past few years.

“Here’s an article that will wake you up, Potter.” Zabini tossed the sports section to the grumbling Gryffindor. “Your girlfriend’s featured in an article. The Harpies haven’t been doing as well, and some fans are asking for her back.”

“Not likely,” laughed Harry as he eagerly reached for the paper to get a glimpse of the old picture of Ginny twisting through the air. Ginny was in a particularly difficult rotation for a few weeks, and they wouldn’t be able to see each other. “She got tired of traveling and the Quidditch scandal made her too angry.”

“Good morning,” said Malfoy, as he entered with Nott behind him. He veered to sit at the head of the table while Nott slid into the seat across from Hermione. Both of them were in expensive robes that were perfectly pressed and hair that looked effortlessly styled. There had to be a spell to do all of those things, and Hermione made the decision to find out. It would be useful to have after long operations.

“Draco, there’s an interesting article claiming that you’re seeing that new singer on the second page of the Society pages,” remarked Daphne before sliding the page past Hermione towards Malfoy. She managed to see a smirking picture of Malfoy in fancy dress robes and a winking picture of a pretty redhead before long fingers grabbed the paper.

“As I’ve never seen her before, I can safely say that this is false,” he scoffed and folded the pages before taking a bite of his breakfast.

Zabini snorted. “Redheads are too exotic for Draco anyways.”

Malfoy sent a look at his friend before swallowing his food. “Yes, thank you, Blaise. Now, let’s discuss what we think is the best course of action for you three. I messaged Robards, and he agreed that I could give a few details of our mission, especially since we don’t know much, in order to make sure you’re safe. Especially because of Potter and Granger. Theo?”

Summoning a folder, Nott cleared his throat. “There was some odd magic a few weeks ago on this island. We’ve been conducting surveillance for the past week, but we registered it for the first time last night outside of the apothecary when all of us were in the building.” He quickly glanced at Daphne, who was calmly drinking her tea while staring at the table, before turning back to his report. “We think that’s a little suspicious, so we decided to have you stay the evening. Nothing else happened last night, but too many people saw you at the apothecary yesterday, and it would be suspicious if we requested to have you moved to a safe house as we investigate more.”

“Wait a minute, you think it’s because of us? The decision to come here was made only a couple days ago, and we were nowhere near this island a few weeks ago,” interrupted Harry. His eyes were narrowed and he looked at the report Nott was referencing.

Nott closed his folder and stared coolly back. “Yes, well coincidences do seem to like you Potter, judging from your track record.”

“It’s highly unlikely, but we’re just being safe,” jumped in Malfoy, “The magical portion of the island is mainly muggleborns and half-bloods that came here during the war. The island is close enough to France that the Dark Lord ignored it in case the French got too interested and intervened. Many families ended up staying after everything was over.”

Nodding, Nott continued. “It is of the opinion of Head Auror Robards that you three be given a choice of staying here for the rest of your volunteering or stay at the location you would be staying at otherwise, but with a guard. One of us will most likely be in the town during the day, and it’s unlikely anything will happen to you during the hours you’re seeing patients with so many other people there. The evenings would be different though.”

Harry frowned. “I think Hermione and I are good enough at protecting ourselves, and Daphne’s pretty good with her own wand.”

Hermione cleared her throat. “It’s been a while since we’ve done any defensive magic, Harry. I think we should listen to them.” She turned towards Malfoy. “I don’t think either option will matter much to us, as you’ve given us our own floor here, but it would be hard on you to constantly be looking after us, and it won’t help your mission. I’m assuming the wards here are impenetrable?”

Malfoy nodded. “The only people who can come in are myself, and anyone I add to the wards. The only ones are Theo, Blaise, my mother, and one cousin in France. My father can’t even get into any of the Malfoy properties because the family magic ceases to recognize those that are imprisoned. We would help build wards at the other property, but it won’t be as tight as the wards here.” He smirked and continued, “Breaking into the Malfoy wards is a futile and rather painful experience.” 

“I think it’s more practical for us to stay here, then. What do you think?” She turned to Harry and Daphne.

Shrugging, Harry nodded. Daphne took a few seconds to think before also agreeing.

“Excellent. I’ll add you three to the wards so you have some freedom in coming and going. We should still add wards to the St. Mungo’s house in case this isn’t connected to you because we don’t want people to get suspicious that we’re here.” Malfoy looked over the table, grey eyes studying all of them. “Blaise and Daphne should go and ward the house. They have the least recognizable magical signatures between all of us. Daphne, you can make your standard wards and Blaise can help you with some of the more complicated ones. I also want you to add a tracker and a ward that alerts us if anyone tries to enter the property.”

“Understood. Daph, we can head over whenever you’re ready,” said Zabini, as he finished the rest of his plate.

Daphne folded her napkin and nodded. “Give me a few minutes, but we should go soon. We have to prepare a few things before work.”

“Oh, and please remember this is an ongoing mission, so try to behave normally, but be careful. We aren’t sure how dangerous it could be,” stated Malfoy as he reached for his tea.

Harry laughed after he took a sip of his own tea. “I’m glad my job is to just make kids feel better. Thank Merlin I don’t have to deal with this kind of stuff anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note to say that I added a prologue to this story! I'm not sure if I'll move it so that it comes as part 2 in the series, but it's there if anyone wants a glimpse into Eighth Year! As always, thank you for reading!


	8. Having Your Wits About You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor spoilers for the Princess Bride ahead!

Several days passed without anything happening out of the ordinary. Draco found himself settling into a bit of a routine, and was pleased to see that the living arrangements were not problematic. While he hoped for a break in the case, he was content with having regular breakfasts and dinners with everyone else instead of staying outside on a stakeout.

Besides Daphne and Theo pointedly ignoring each other beyond a few supposedly covert glances at each other at the dinner table, everyone was getting along reasonably well. He managed to continue being friendly to Granger in the evenings, and it was easier to hide away Hogwarts Granger as he spent more time with this new Granger. If there were times he snuck out late at night to check and rebuild his walls, well no one else had to know. Potter seemed to have grown out of being a Gryffindor prat and magically learned to think before speaking. He also turned out to be useful in the kitchen.

Misty had been unexpectedly called away for a dinner party his mother was hosting for her old friends in Paris, and Draco had asked if anyone wanted to cook or if they should get take-out from a restaurant in town. Surprisingly, Potter had volunteered himself, and Draco asked Theo to also help out in case the Gryffindor was incompetent. The last time someone had volunteered to cook, it had been Blaise. And let’s just say that a burned kitchen, melted pans, and food poisoning meant Blaise was to never set foot near a stove ever again.

Blaise was keeping an eye on the tracking instruments and the girls were organizing their to-do list for the next day. Draco decided to take a glass of wine into the kitchen and make sure the other two didn’t try to burn down his kitchen. He was sure Potter still had a temper, and Theo still sent the former Gryffindor the occasional death glare even though they were pretty sure there was nothing going on between the Healer and Daphne.

“So, Potter, I didn’t think Gryffindors had the patience to learn how to cook,” he remarked, as he leaned on the doorframe.

The man in question shrugged before continuing to chop the onions into imprecise pieces, whereas Theo was using his wand to dice the tomatoes into identical cubes. “I had to cook every meal for my aunt, uncle, and cousin for six years before Hogwarts. You learn fast, especially since Dudley needed at least four servings.” He blinked when the onions began to sting his eyes, and he reached up to adjust his glasses before his green eyes looked up. “Cooking isn’t really about patience or precision like potions. I like to think it’s more about instinct and practice.”

Draco blinked. Why on earth would the hero of the Wizarding World have begun cooking from the age of five?

Potter caught his glance and shrugged. “I didn’t have the best childhood, let’s just say that. What about you, Nott? I didn’t think most Purebloods knew how to cook because they just used their house elves.”

Sending the tomatoes soaring onto a plate, Theo reached for the box of pasta noodles. “My childhood wasn’t exactly fulfilling either. My house elves let me help them cook because I was mostly left alone.” A silence stretched in the kitchen for a few minutes, and Draco took a moment to curse Nott Senior again for causing so many problems for his friend.

“So, what’s the deal with you and Daphne?” Potter’s voice cut through the silence to the sound of the sauce beginning to simmer.

Draco nearly dropped his glass of wine. “I nearly thought you learned to think before you spoke, Potter. You have very little tact,” he scoffed as he watched his friend’s hand accidentally snap a few strands of pasta in half.

Potter didn’t respond until he had found a spoon and stirred the sauce for a few moments. He turned around and raised his hands in surrender, sauce flying across the cream walls of the kitchen. “You don’t have to answer if it’s too personal. The week’s been going great except for the tension between you two, and I don’t like it. I was maybe a bit more blunt with my question because I’m sure the girls will come in here soon to check on us.”

Waving his wand to clean the walls, Theo stared at the Healer before nodding. “We broke up a few days after Easter break our sixth year. I cheated on her.”

Growling, Potter immediately pulled his hands down and directed a blazing glare at Theo. “You what?” It was the first time that week that Draco remembered that this was the man who had defeated the darkest wizard of their generation when he had been seventeen. Maybe this wasn’t the best conversation to be having while there was an open flame in a mostly wooden house.

“Easy, Potter,” muttered Draco as he kicked off the door and moved between the two wizards. “Great job, Theo. You might as well tell him everything since you decided to be a Hufflepuff and give in so quickly. And Potter, I thought you had the Weaselette.”

Furious green eyes snapped to meet his. “I’m perfectly happy with and in love with Ginny, Malfoy. After eighth year and Healer training, Daphne’s become like a sister to me. So, excuse me if I’m concerned that she’s being forced to stay in the same house as the man who cheated on her.”

“It was planned,” whispered Theo, looking down at his shoes. “I found out about Draco’s mission over Easter Break when my father told me his plans to rise through the Dark Lord’s ranks if I did something for him. I refused, and my father became set on me taking the Dark Mark. I somehow managed to hold it off until after my seventh year by claiming I wanted to be fully trained and be useful, so thank you for defeating him before he had the chance.”

He shuddered and clenched his fist at his side before continuing, “The plan involved Daphne. I knew the Greengrasses were determined to remain neutral for as long as possible, and if I was in a relationship with Daphne, we would both be used to force her father to pick a side. Right after Easter break, I made arrangements so she would find me snogging another witch in one of the practice Potions labs and break up with me.” He gave a bitter laugh and sent the pasta noodles flying into the bubbling pot of water. “It worked a little too well.”

Potter sagged and returned to stirring the sauce. “I’m sorry, Nott. Did you explain after the war was over?”

Theo shook his head. “What would be the point? I broke her heart, and this might just break it again.”

“Who knew that you would be a noble one, Nott,” muttered Potter as he tasted the sauce. “You should tell her. I’m sure Daphne would forgive you.”

“I know she would, but I don’t deserve it,” replied Theo. “I really hurt her that night.”

Draco groaned at the scheming expression he saw, “Don’t tell her, Potter. When Theo decides to grow a pair and tell her, he should do it on his own.” 

“Fine, but you need to tell her soon. I don’t think I can stand the tension for very long. Nott, can you taste the sauce too? I think it’s missing something,” Potter said as he turned to the stove but then whirled around to point his dripping spoon at him. “Do you have any secrets concerning my friends that I need to know about, Malfoy?”

“Not today, Potter,” replied Draco as he cleaned the mess before leaving the kitchen to avoid seeing Theo roll his eyes.

* * *

Saturday night found the Malfoy Cliffhouse’s occupants in the large living room. Hermione was spending the evening curled up with a cup of tea and a stack of books at the small side table. Apparently, Malfoy had asked Misty to order new books when he had first arrived at the house, and she was pleased to see both older wizarding novels she hadn’t read and new releases that she had been waiting to get her hands on. She could hear distant waves in the distance, and the window was propped open to allow the evening sea breeze to flow into the house.

Malfoy was sitting in the chair opposite her with a glass of wine and the parchment one of the Aurors had with them at all times. He was bantering with his friends while tapping the parchment every few minutes with his wand. Daphne was sketching on a couch in the far corner.

The other men were on their own chairs and talking about quidditch. The conversation lulled and Harry took a sip of his butterbeer as he lounged in his chair. “I sometimes wonder what it would’ve been like to be an Auror.”

Zabini chuckled. “Potter, you would’ve passed the practical training with flying colors, but you might’ve failed a few sections.”

“Yes, you definitely wouldn’t have passed the stealth and deductive skills portion,” laughed Nott. Hermione looked up at that. Nott had been the most distant in the house, but it seemed like he had become friendly with Harry in the past couple of days.

Harry sat up straight and glared at the two former Slytherins. “I resent that. I’m great at stealth and deducing things.”

“Things,” chortled Zabini. “Ok, shall we run the Buttercup simulation?”

“What?” Harry looked on in confusion as Zabini rushed to the kitchen and Nott arranged two chairs and summoned a coffee table to sit between them. “What’s happening?”

Malfoy laughed, actually laughed, loudly from his seat. She stared at him and immediately wished he would do it again. “This should be interesting.” He winked at Hermione, and she could immediately feel her face heat up. “You should pay attention, Granger.”

Hermione opened her mouth to ask what was happening before she saw the missing Slytherin returning with two solid goblets. She laughed in delight and closed her book. “Oh, is this what I think this is? But it’s a muggle movie?”

The blond smirked at her before nodding. “It’s a classic that one of the Auror instructors had us watch. I quite liked Westley.”

“I’m still confused,” muttered Harry, and he looked back at Daphne who also shrugged.

Zabini gave a goblet to Nott and set the other one down in front of him as he sat. “It’s simple, Potter. It’s a battle of wits. I’ve added poison, iocane to be specific, to the butterbeer. You just have to deduce where it is based on our performance.”

“Poison? What the hell is iocane?”

“It’s not really poison. I’ve just added some unpleasant ingredients to show the answer,” replied Zabini.

Harry nodded and moved his chair closer. “Okay, I’m ready. I’m so going to get this.”

“Wands please,” called Malfoy as he set up a timer on his watch. The Slytherins handed him their wands, and Harry tossed his to Hermione. “Potter, you have to make your call before the alarm.”

Grinning, Harry turned back to the main event and eagerly studied the two men who were perfectly poised in their seats.

Nott cracked his neck and sent a smirk to his counterpart. “Watch closely, Potter. The battle of wits has begun. It’s quite simple, actually. All you have to divine is what you know of Blaise.”

“Um, well not a lot. Except that he’s a Slytherin and an Auror,” muttered Harry as he continued to look at the goblets.

“You wound me, Potter,” cried out Blaise as he clutched his heart. He straightened and leaned forward with a glint in his eye. “Alright, Potter. I’ll give you a hand and some life lessons. Clever men would keep the poisoned drink close because only fools would drink whatever they were given.”

Harry blinked. “So, the poison is in your glass?”

“That means you think that Blaise is clever, or cleverer than me. Which is simply not the case. Besides, I’m the smart one,” Nott told Harry with a wink.

The lone Gryffindor involved in the game nodded. “Sounds fair. So, the poison is in Nott’s glass.”

Zabini snapped his fingers. “Now, Potter. Theo and I have known each other for years. So, I know that he’s smart and I probably would have accounted for it. To be fair, I think it’s pretty even.”

“So, the poison is in your drink?”

Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing at Harry’s serious, yet bemused, expression and the positively feral smirks on the two Slytherin’s faces.

“So, have you made your decision?” drawled Malfoy as he took another sip of his wine. He looked like he was enjoying a vaguely amusing dinner show.

“Wait, no. We haven’t even gotten to the iocane,” yelped Zabini and he turned to look at her best friend. “Potter, you have to investigate the iocane part. This is all very sloppy deduction, and Robards would have had you booted on the first day of training.”

Harry frowned and swallowed. “What is iocane?”

Nott took up the thread of conversation. “Now, pay attention, Potter. Iocane is a poison only found in Australia. Everyone knows that. Australia is known to be a country full of criminals, and after your first intro classes as an Auror trainee, you would know that criminals do not trust others, right?”

Harry nodded earnestly. “Right.”

“Good boy. So, since Blaise got this poison from the Australians, we can’t trust him and he wouldn’t trust us, so we cannot choose his drink.”

“Okay, so the poison has to be in Zabini’s glass.”

Zabini smirked and leaned back in his chair. “I’ll make this easy for you, Potter. Let’s trade drinks, Theo.”

Nott rolled his eyes. “I know what you’re doing Theo. You’re hardly confusing anyone,” but he allowed them to trade glasses before he glanced at Harry, who was just blinking at the table, and frowned. “Never mind. Potter, are you even paying attention?”

“I’m a little confused,” he muttered as his green eyes darted back and forth between the two glasses.

Rolling back his sleeves, Nott shook his head. “Okay, a little more background information. Blaise is an excellent manipulator, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to switch the drinks without us looking. I mean, he’s a Sicilian, honestly Potter don’t look surprised he doesn’t act at all like a proper Englishman, and you never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line.”

“You’re a little off, Theo, but I’ll let it slide for now,” muttered Zabini.

“Oh, and you should never get involved in a land war in Asia. I think that’s all the advice that’s relevant here.”

Malfoy’s wand vibrated against the side table and he tapped it. “Time’s up, Potter. You need to make a decision.”

Harry just looked completely confused and glanced up to see a shaking Hermione hiding her face behind a book, Malfoy twirling his glass of wine, and Daphne looking at Nott with a sad smile on her face. He turned back to the table with the two former Slytherins and just shook his head. “I think I’ll go with my gut feeling, and I’ll drink the one Nott has. Or Zabini’s original glass.”

Nott raised an eyebrow and pushed the goblet forward. “Interesting choice, Potter.”

Everyone eagerly leaned forward to watch as Harry nervously took a large gulp of the drink before gagging. “This is disgusting! What’s the bloody hell is it?” he spluttered, his green eyes watering and his face rapidly turning red.

Grinning, Zabini handed him the other goblet. “Oh, just some soy sauce, vinegar, wasabi, fish sauce, and some other things I found in the pantry. Draco, I think Misty’s going to make us sushi this weekend. Here you go, Potter. You can wash that down with this.”

“Thanks, Zabini,” choked Harry before he downed the other goblet in one go. He jumped up and spluttered while grabbing his throat. “This isn’t butterbeer!”

Hermione was crying because she was laughing so hard at Harry’s disgusted but indignant face. “They were both poisoned, Harry.” She laughed harder as his eyes widened in shock before quickly narrowing into a glare at everyone in the room.

“That isn’t fair! You said I just had to drink the one without poison! You didn’t say they were both poisoned!” Harry angrily stalked over to grab his butterbeer from earlier and carefully took a small sip before he drained it.

Malfoy tutted from his chair and threw his friends’ wands to their respective owners. “You didn’t listen to Blaise earlier. He said he added the poison to the butterbeer, not just one of the goblets, and he also said you had to guess where it was, not which goblet it was in. Further, he didn’t say you had to drink it. You could’ve just asked if you had gotten it right. All in all, a D in deduction and a T in execution. You definitely would have failed Auror Training.”

Harry whirled to look at Hermione as she handed him his wand and cast a cleansing charm for him. “Did you know they had poisoned both?”

She wiped her eyes and nodded. “I didn’t know until they used the same lines as in the movie. It’s based on the Princess Bride, Harry. I think you would like it. Both glasses are poisoned, and the main character said he had developed an immunity to the poison.”

Daphne laughed and she picked up her sketchbook again. “Are both glasses always poisoned?”

Shaking his head, Zabini grinned. “No, but there was that one time Draco managed to fool the whole class with his classic Malfoy mask. Our instructor was so confused even though he had set up the glasses. Draco insisted for twenty minutes that he had a perfectly normal glass of water, and the instructor actually drank it to check before spitting it back out all over his assistant. He made Draco and everyone who laughed, so the whole class, run an extra five miles that day.”

“I thought I would try building a tolerance,” said Malfoy with a shrug, although there was a satisfied smirk pulling on his lips.

Laughing shakily, Harry shook his head. “I’m so glad I never became an Auror then. I’m terrible with managing my expressions.”

Nott summoned his glass of firewhisky and cocked his head. “I’m sure you would’ve done just fine and probably beaten Draco out for the top spot. So, tell us why you didn’t, Potter, because the whole world was shocked when you enrolled at St. Mungo’s instead of joining the Auror Corps. Everyone thought you were going to naturally come in, graduate top of the class, and become the youngest Head Auror in history. I think the Prophet reported every rumor under the sun for at least a month.”

“It’s not as exciting as what the Prophet tried to make it sound like,” Harry replied while rolling his eyes. “I was tired of dealing with people trying to kill me, whether it was because of a prophecy or if I had just gotten in their way. But I still wanted to help people instead of just making my way through politics or just staying at home hiding from the public. McGonagall said I was too young to teach DADA, and I don’t think I can stay at Hogwarts year-round like Neville does.” He took a sip of his butterbeer and looked at Malfoy. “I spent a lot of time helping out with Teddy the summer before Eighth Year, and Hermione mentioned something about applying for St. Mungo’s. The Pediatrics Ward was happy with my NEWTs, so that’s how I ended up there. It’s much nicer to work with kids who don’t know who you are. Plus, people are less willing to hurt their kids just to meet The Chosen One.” He nervously trailed off before continuing, “So, I still get to help people, just without the constant danger and paranoia hanging around if that makes sense?”

Zabini tilted his head back and forth before nodding. “Acceptable. What about you, Granger? Another do-gooder in the world?”

Sipping on her tea, Hermione shrugged. “Harry was thinking of other careers, so I looked into what NEWT scores were required for everything in the pamphlets McGonagall had given us. Healers required higher NEWT scores than other jobs, and the Trauma Ward required the highest scores. I didn’t want to stop challenging myself after Hogwarts.”

The handsome Italian raised an eyebrow, and Hermione wondered if she had been a bit too honest with her logic. “Okay, so Granger is still a swot.”

Blushing, Hermione tried to change the subject. “What about you three? Why the Auror Corps? Harry nearly choked to death on his breakfast the first time we saw you were featured in the Case of the Week.”

Harry spluttered as the three Slytherins exchanged glances. Nott cleared his throat. “The Malfoy heir over here felt guilty about his part in the war while he was brooding in his huge house and wanted to make amends. He wanted to make sure nothing like the war happened again and convinced me to join with him, as both of our manors were large and empty without adult supervision. It wasn’t hard to talk Blaise into it after he had gotten bored of sleeping his way through the continent the summer before our Eighth Year.” He paused before continuing, “Actually, it was a little difficult to convince Blaise. He said red wasn’t his color, but he did like the detailing and buttons of the uniforms.”

The Italian nodded sagely and toasted his friends. “The buttons were key.” He glanced at Harry before closing his eyes and saying, “I guess it’s also nice to help people in a lot of different ways.”

Malfoy drained his glass and just nodded.

Cringing, Harry just shook his head. “This has been such a weird night. Can we do something normal, like play chess?”

Zabini flicked his wand with a rather large smirk. “This is the best day ever. We get to beat The Boy Who Wouldn’t Die at everything.”

Harry moaned and collapsed in his seat. “Never mind. I don’t think I can take being ganged up on by Slytherins for the rest of the night. This is like Hogwarts all over again. Why didn’t we bring Ron with us?”

Malfoy stood with a smirk and stretched his back. “I’ll take pity on you, Potter. Did you bring your broom? I know you can outfly Blaise and Theo, although I don’t think you’re in shape enough to best me.”

Perking up with a grin, Harry nearly bounced to his feet. “You’re on, Malfoy.”

“You’re going to be stuck here for at least another month the rate we’re going with the case. You can call me Draco, and that goes for you as well, Granger.”

Hermione nodded and “Harry, and that’s for all of you.”

“Excellent, Harry. I look forward to beating your weak Healer ass,” announced Theo, as he summoned his broom.

“Not so fast, boys. I can deal with most injuries, but I refuse to heal you if you get them while you’re intoxicated. We’re also right next to a cliff and the ocean. Harry’s well aware of what happens if you get into any trouble while drunk,” muttered Hermione. She summoned a few vials of sober-up potion and tossed them to the other men.

They groaned good-naturedly, but followed her instructions before traipsing outside. Draco released a practice snitch, and she saw Blaise knock Harry over before shooting after it with a loud whoop.

“I think I’ll go to bed,” Daphne softly murmured as she also looked out the windows. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She gathered her sketching materials and gave Hermione a smile before elegantly walking out of the room.

Hermione waved good night to her friend before replacing her cup of tea with a glass of wine. She could hear the taunting and laughter from outside and she nudged the window open wider. Closing her book, she took a couple sips of her wine and summoned a thin blanket from her room. She still didn’t like quidditch, but it was nice to see the boys getting along. And if her eyes were following a blond figure diving and zipping through the air a little too closely, she blamed it on the wine.


	9. Forgiveness

Hermione handed Daphne a bottle of butterbeer before sitting on the porch swing next to her friend. It was the Friday of their second week at the Malfoy Cliffhouse, and they had just finished dinner. The boys had decided to play another Seeker game after an early dinner, and it was in full swing. Blaise had been upset that Harry had won the previous weekend and demanded a rematch while the sun was still out. He claimed Harry’s glasses had given him an advantage, which everyone agreed with to humor him.

Daphne accepted the drink with a smile of thanks before turning back to her sketchbook. Hermione looked down to see a stunning portrait of Theo flying. His hair was flying in an imaginary wind and a half-finished small triumphant smirk graced his face as his left fingers stretched towards the snitch that just evaded his grasp. The details were exquisite, and Daphne had just finished fully drawing the last few details of his mouth before she abruptly stopped.

“This is amazing, Daph. I knew your sketches were great, but this is truly a masterpiece.” She looked up to see that her friend had frozen. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to look,” apologized Hermione.

The blonde took a deep breath before smiling sadly. “No, it’s fine.”

Hermione stayed silent. She had known the two had been close for a few years at Hogwarts, but Daphne didn’t talk about their Hogwarts years often. Everyone was getting along in the house, but Hermione wasn’t immune to the chilliness between the two Slytherins.

“I know everyone’s noticed the tension between us. I think you and Harry are the only ones who aren’t aware of the story.”

Caramel eyes met sad blue ones, and Hermione winced. “I noticed the two of you are distant with each other, but it’s none of my business, Daph.”

Her friend just shook her head and softly ran a finger down the page. “It’s alright. He was my first boyfriend, and I thought he was The One. It’s unlikely for Hogwarts romances to work out, especially first ones that start at the end of Third Year, but everyone thought we were perfect together. We were going to be the ones married right after graduation, have a set of beautiful and brilliant twins in Nott Manor, and grow old together,” sighed Daphne wistfully before flipping through more sketches of Theo sleeping, frowning while reading a massive Potions textbook that Hermione remembered was useful for an extra-credit assignment in their Fifth Year, stirring a cauldron with a focused look, lounging on a couch that must have belonged to the Slytherin couch with his eyes closed and a dainty pair of feet meeting his from the other end.

“It sounds like you loved each other,” murmured Hermione.

A sad laugh escaped Daphne as she closed her sketchbook. “We did. Or I thought he loved me. We used to brew potions together in one of the practice labs. No one was ever down there, and it was something fun we would do.” Setting aside her sketchbook, she continued, “One day in the Spring of our Sixth Year, I found him with a younger Ravenclaw in our room with potions ingredients everywhere. I asked what he was doing, and he just told me to leave and to close the door behind me. I didn’t tell anyone what happened, but he never spoke to me again. Everyone realized we had broken up when we didn’t speak to each other anymore, but then there were other things happening at Hogwarts, so the news of our breakup wasn’t important in a matter of a few weeks.”

Hermione reached out to hold Daphne’s hand. “I’m sorry, Daphne. That’s a terrible thing to go through.”

“My father was relieved when he heard the news. He had adored Theo and always said he was the son he never had. But my parents were trying to stay out of the war because while they didn’t support You Know Who, they had many friends who did. They thought having a marked boyfriend would make things difficult.”

“I thought Theo was never marked?”

Humming, Daphne nodded. “He wasn’t, but everyone thought he would be marked before our seventh year started.”

“And he never explained himself?”

“No, and I don’t plan on asking. I had seen and heard more than enough to know he didn’t love me anymore. Not the way I loved him. What’s the point in knowing after all these years anyways? It’s not like we’re ever going to get our happily ever after.”

The boys touched down in a tangle of brooms and arms, with Blaise yelling that Harry cheated by having a broom that wasn’t even on the market yet, courtesy of Ginny and her Quidditch connections. Draco was joking that Blaise should find himself a Quidditch star girlfriend or boyfriend if he wanted to get brooms before they reached stores. Theo was laughing loudly and brushing his sweaty hair back as he charmed the snitch Harry had caught to stop moving.

Hermione watched as Daphne looked at the group before standing up with her sketchbook. “I think I’m going to sleep early tonight, Hermione. Thank you for listening, I’ve only ever told Astoria the whole story.”

“Of course, Daph. Let me know if there’s anything you need,” replied Hermione quietly before she looked back at the approaching group of boys. “So, Harry beat all of you again?” She managed a grin at the group as she stood up, but focused on a particular Slytherin who was brushing back his dark hair.

Draco laughed as he avoided a sweaty and emotional Blaise. “He caught it three times, and I caught it twice. Theo managed to snag it once, and our dear Blaise caught it…never.”

Theo dodged Blaise’s wild gestures and complaints before turning a small smile on Hermione. “It flew directly into my hand on accident. I’m sure Draco would’ve gotten it otherwise, so you can say they should have tied.”

“I demand a rematch as soon as I get a new broom,” yelled Blaise before he stalked inside.

Harry gulped, “Is he actually mad?”

Pushing the nervous Gryffindor inside, Draco just smirked. “Don’t worry about Blaise, he just loves to be dramatic. He’ll be fine in the morning.”

“You mean more dramatic than you Mr. My-father-will-hear-about-this?” quipped Harry before dodging Draco’s swipe and hurrying inside.

“Are you going inside, Hermione?” She turned to see Theo gesturing for her to enter the house first with a small smile. Nodding, she hurried inside. She believed Daphne, but Theo didn’t seem like the type of person to suddenly cheat on a long-term girlfriend and never talk to her again. Wondering if there was anything more to the story, Hermione pulled out a novel she had been enjoying before dinner to distract herself from sticking her nose where it had no business of being. She had found it on one of the bookshelves in the living room, and she just had a few chapters to finish.

* * *

Draco padded down the staircase to the living room after showering, intent on finding a book to read in bed. He had handed the map of trackers off to Blaise and was looking forward to losing himself in a book for a couple hours before turning in for the night. It had been a long week of useless attempts at solving the case, and he was ready to not wrack his brain for more theories. Confused to see the fire still crackling and a couple lamps alight, he stepped further into the room before seeing Hermione.

She was curled up in the corner of the largest couch with the book he had just finished before the Healers had arrived. He had stayed up all night to finish the novel about a junior Wizengamot member and an Auror teaming up to investigate several corrupt Wizengamot seniors, the Head Auror, and a large muggle corporation. The author had managed to neatly tie six different murder cases together and incorporate more than a few twists. Draco had been quite impressed with the story and was excited to learn that a sequel would be published next year.

“Isn’t it a great book?” asked Draco softly, as he sat down on the couch opposite hers. He summoned a few books from the bookshelf so he could find one to read.

“Shhhh I have two chapters left to go, Draco. Give me five minutes,” exclaimed Hermione as she flapped a hand in his direction, not even sparing him a glance as she flipped the page. “And don’t you dare spoil the ending!”

“I’ll give you ten minutes,” Draco murmured, amused at how tightly she was curled up with the book in her lap. He studied her face and smiled at her expressions as she read. There had been three twists in the second to last chapter, and he could tell when she reached each one as her eyes widened and she gave small gasps every few pages. Her hair was down and fell softly off of her shoulders in large curls, and he ached to reach out for one and feel if it was as soft as it looked.

He startled from his thoughts when she let out an indignant noise. Hermione was ripping through pages backwards through the book before flipping back to the ending. That was not the reaction he was expecting. “Did you not like it?”

She slammed the book shut with a defiant look in her eye. The fire in her eyes died as she stared at him with wide eyes. Draco was suddenly aware of his still wet hair and the black long-sleeved t-shirt and pajama pants he had thrown on. He knew they were rumpled and his hair was a state, but he had left his wand upstairs. This was definitely not how Malfoys were supposed to look.

Hermione blinked after several long seconds before looking back down at the book and cleared her throat. “It was fantastic, and probably one of the best ones I’ve read in a long time,” she finally replied before her tone shifted to one of annoyance, “but I thought of a theory during dinner, and I’m so disappointed that it didn’t pan out.”

Draco was so startled at her petulant tone that he found himself chuckling, “Hermione Granger, are you whining because you had a better story idea than a best-selling author?”

“No, no,” laughed Hermione, as she set the book aside. “I had a feeling the nice internal investigator was the culprit, but I thought he would be working on behalf of the muggle corporation, and then they could explore the muggle world in a sequel or something. It was so sad that he committed the murders to avenge his son, and how the Chief Warlock sacrificed himself to bring all the corruption to light.”

“That’s an interesting idea,” mused Draco, “but I did enjoy how it ended. Your idea would have required another 100 pages in order to set things up for a sequel.”

Groaning, Hermione unfolded herself and rolled her neck, “I’m going to need a glass of wine to recover from this book.”

“Misty?” called Draco, smiling as his elf popped into the room and handed him a glass of wine before turning to offer one to Hermione.

“Thank you, Misty. You’re amazing,” exclaimed Hermione to a blushing elf who quickly popped away with a curtsey.

The two of them quietly sipped their wine before Draco remembered a Hogwarts Hermione that he had not locked away. _A bushy-haired Granger had been hounding the other Gryffindors in the hallway as he made his way to class. She had been balancing an enormous bag and a small box with a few sad sickles rattling about. “Don’t you think slavery is wrong? With S.P.E.W, we can overturn this injustice,” she announced. Something flew out as she continued her tirade in front of him, and he bent down to pick it up. It was a small badge with S.P.E.W stamped across the front. He wondered what she had been screaming about, and stuffed the badge in his bag before his friends caught up to him._ Come to think about it, the badge was probably still somewhere in his old school bag, as he got a new one every year and never sorted through them.

“So, did you give up on SPEW, Granger?” He asked, as he sent the books flying neatly back to where they belonged. There was no way he was going to be able to focus on any plotline tonight. Satisfied with the result, he turned back to Hermione, who was staring at him with her mouth agape.

“How do you know about S.P.E.W?” she spluttered.

He shrugged, “I remember you shrieking about it our fourth year, and we found a house elf in near tears in one of the classrooms while it stared at what kind of looked like a hat.”

Hermione blushed, and took a sip of her wine. “Yes, well. I did some research before Eighth Year because the Ministry’s Creature Department looked interesting, but then Kreacher gave me the longest lecture I ever sat through. He’s Sirus’s old elf, and he’s been doting on me and Harry in Grimmauld Place. Needless to say, he spent four hours teaching me the history of the relationship between house elves and wizards, and the terms they had agreed on hundreds of years ago. I learned that Dobby and Winky were special cases, so I decided to disband the organization,” she trailed off nervously, and Draco winced at her words.

“Yes, Dobby was a bit odd because he had been my grandfather’s elf and my father used him for a variety of dangerous tasks during the first war. He did play with me when I was younger, and I was confused when Father told me that Potter had freed him.” He swallowed the rest of his wine and set his glass aside. “I’m very glad that he got you out of the Manor that night.”

Draco turned to face her and took her in. She was beautiful with the soft lamplight behind her and the fire illuminating her face with a flickering orange glow. “I want to apologize again for my part in that night, and for everything before that, Hermione.” He took another breath to continue, but she was shaking her head.

“You have nothing to apologize for with regards to that night. You didn’t turn us in, and you didn’t hit with me the cruciatus. It’s all in the past Draco. I’ve already forgiven you for everything a long time ago,” she said with a smile. Her fingers slowly spun her half empty wine glass as she kept looking at him.

He shook his head and rolled his neck. “I could have done something more to stop it.”

* * *

Hermione narrowed her eyes as she spotted a dark red line where his neck met his right shoulder as his shirt shifted. She was standing up and moving couches before she even thought about what she was doing. “Draco, is that another injury?” She didn’t remember seeing it when she had treated him in the operating room.

She didn’t notice him freeze, as she kneeled on the couch next to him and pulled his shirt down. A trail of goosebumps erupted, and she rubbed her hands to warm them before continuing. It was definitely a new scar, nothing serious, but he also had a large red mark that looked like it would bruise before morning. She waved her wand to summon a sobering potion and downed it quickly, waiting a minute for the potion to enter her system. “Explain.”

Draco swallowed under her gaze and looked away. “I slipped when I was setting up a tracking device a few days ago and got scratched by a branch. The mark is from quidditch earlier. Nothing hurts, and it’s fine.”

Humming, Hermione leaned in closer to see the extent of the damage and frowned when the blond looked like he wasn’t breathing. She stood up to move the vial onto a side table and watched him take a deep breath from the corner of her eye. “I can’t fix the scar of the scratch, but I can cast a spell on the bruise. If you wait an hour before putting bruise paste on it, it’ll heal much quicker. Will that be okay?”

He nodded and pulled his shirt down lower. Hermione sat back on the couch and used her left hand to push down on the red skin until she could feel Draco tensing before quickly casting a spell with her wand in her right hand. “That should do it.” She fixed his shirt and looked up to find him looking at her with a curious glint in his grey eyes. They weren’t completely open, but they didn’t have a shuttered look to them. In fact, his eyes seemed to be darker like the clouds of an oncoming storm.

“Why did you drink a sobering potion? I don’t think you were drunk,” asked Draco softly.

Hermione shrugged and leaned back a bit so she was sitting properly next to him. She could feel heat radiating from his body, and it was welcome as another cool evening sea breeze flew into the room. “You’re not supposed to do healing spells while you’re drunk. There can be some weird side effects with your magic, no matter how little you may have had.” She frowned at the small part of his scar that peeked out from underneath his shirt. “Why don’t you heal your injuries? They have to be painful, and most of the scars you have could have easily been preventable.”

Draco gave a strangled laugh and gestured to his left arm. “I’m already scarred for life, so what’s a few more minor ones? At least they haven’t been tainted by dark magic.”

She suddenly realized why he had worn long sleeves and robes during their time together despite the season. She hadn’t seen a dark mark since the end of the war, and she had been too busy trying to stop Draco from bleeding to death the last time she had seen his arms. Moving slowly to give him ample time to back away, Hermione reached out her hand with the palm up towards his other side. She looked up at him and whispered, “May I?”

He paused before offering his left arm to her. His eyes were unreadable as they watched her look down and push back his sleeve. Her fingers tried to be gentle as she kept pushing back fabric until she had reached his elbow.

Studying his forearm, Hermione bit her lip as she gently touched his wrist but made sure not to brush her fingers against the scar. She couldn’t feel any dark magic, and she knew that the magic and darkness behind the mark had disappeared when Harry had defeated Voldemort. That was one tidbit that the Aurors had released during the trials.

It didn’t look like a skull and snake anymore. It just looked like his arm had been horribly burned at one point where the skin was rough and raised and a darker shade than the rest of his fine pale skin. A few larger ridges erupted here and there. In short, Voldemort had managed to mangle the arms of his followers even after his death.

Hermione looked up to see the stormy eyes start to shutter shut as they gazed on their biggest regret. She lifted a finger to gently brush against the very center of his forearm, and Draco startled and met her eyes. Surprise filtered through his steely gaze as he tensed underneath her touch but quickly relaxed. “Does it hurt?” she whispered.

His voice was rough, as he replied, “Not anymore.”

Hermione continued to brush his forearm with her left index finger as her right hand found his fingers and gave a small squeeze. “Everyone knows why you got this, Draco, and how you were trying to protect your mother. Everyone knows that everything you did was under duress. Just about everyone has forgiven you, so you should forgive yourself,” she watched a frown appear on his face as she spoke.

Squeezing his fingers again, she continued, “There’s nothing wrong with having scars. They help tell the story of your life, and how far you’ve come since then. But there’s no need to keep the ones you can heal,” she murmured as she reached up to brush the scar by his collarbone. She could feel his body tense again and quickly pulled the sleeve of his shirt back down and put some space between them.

Clearing her throat, she tried to reach for her Healer Granger voice, “And as your Healer, I need you to treat yourself better. That means letting someone heal stupid injuries from slipping out of trees and playing stupid quidditch.”

The frown on Draco’s face relaxed as his mouth twitched up in a smirk. He turned to face her with his back to the fireplace. “So, does this mean you’re my official Healer now, Granger?”

She smiled back. “I might as well be, since I know you nearly never come to St. Mungo’s. The last time you were treated there was when I was a trainee and it was so serious that you needed to stay for a full week. A lot of your injuries look like they should have warranted at least a visit.”

His smirk grew. “Why Healer Granger, did you look at my file? I’m pretty sure there’s something about patient confidentiality.”

“Of course I did, because I’m your Healer,” retorted Hermione, fighting to stay poised. She really shouldn’t have peeked a look at his file, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself from looking at the medical history of the man she was supposed to go on a date with. It wasn’t like she was looking at an x-ray of him and swooning over it, which she had caught a nurse doing over one of those new wizarding boy band members.

Hermione took a second to look at this man who had accomplished so much with his career in protecting their society, but he still couldn’t believe others had forgiven him. And he still hadn’t forgiven himself for things that had happened when he had just been a boy.

“You’ve changed a lot, Draco Malfoy. I think when we all make it back to London, I will take you up on that makeup dinner date after all.”

A smile slowly appeared on his lips before he winked, “Count on it, Hermione. It’ll be the first thing we do when we get back.”

Hermione smiled back, as another breeze blew in through the window. She was suddenly aware of the darkness surrounding them, and the fire flickering behind his head to create a glow that softened his features in all the right ways. She was struck by how handsome Draco Malfoy was, a fact she had been trying to ignore since the first time she had seen him at Hogwarts when they had been eleven. She could see a small hint of that arrogant eleven year old, but the man she was studying had grown to be a confident man. A good man.

“Are you alright, Hermione?” She blinked to see him watching her with an amused look in his stormy eyes.

She quickly hopped off the couch and reached for her wand stammering, “Remember to apply the bruise paste soon.” Crossing the room to grab her abandoned glass of wine, she managed to whisper, “Good night, Draco,” without looking at him before fleeing up the stairs.


	10. Confessing

A couple weeks later, Hermione woke up at a lovely ten in the morning because she had her first patient at noon. She had decided to eat breakfast and curl up with a book that Draco had recommended a few days earlier on the back porch before going in to the apothecary. There was only one other person at the dining table when she arrived. “Good morning, Blaise.”

The handsome wizard looked up from his paper and shot her a lazy smirk. “Ah, she’s awoken. Your wizard’s prepared your tea and saved your breakfast from The Boy Who Eats Everything. He even warded it so only your magical signature can release the ward,” chuckled Blaise as he saw her dumbfounded expression.

Indeed, there was a steaming cup of tea at her place and a beautiful plate of breakfast. “My wizard? And what do you mean he warded it?” asked Hermione, as she slipped into her chair.

Blaise dug out a galleon from his pocket, and threw it towards her breakfast. It promptly bounced off of an invisible barrier two inches from her plate before flying back to his hand. “Your Gryffindor went a bit feral earlier with food, so Draco thought he needed to ensure that your breakfast was protected.” He returned the galleon to his pocket and raised an eyebrow. “And yes, he’s your wizard, and I promise to only borrow him on occasion.”

Flushing, Hermione used her wand to remove the wards on her food and took a sip of her tea. It was absolutely perfect. “I have no idea what you’re talking about Blaise.”

Picking up the Daily Prophet, Blaise glanced at her over the top of the paper. “Oh, he’s only liked you since our Fourth Year. I believe he’s been intrigued by you well before it, but he’s definitely liked you since that Fall.”

Hermione’s breath caught and a multitude questions were flitting through her mind. Draco had liked her before now? And before the Yule Ball? She willed herself to calm down and placed her napkin in her lap before picking up her fork. “Why are you telling me this, Blaise?”

He shrugged and folded the paper back up. “One couple of true love tiptoeing around each other is bad enough, and I don’t think I can handle having another one to worry about, let alone living with both of them in one house. And I know you two have gotten much closer,” he muttered before angrily taking a sip of his coffee.

Focusing on cutting into her breakfast, Hermione averted her gaze. “You’re reading into things a bit too much, Blaise.”

The handsome Auror scowled and threw his paper into the seat next to him before raising his right index finger. “One, you both know how to prepare each other’s tea. Draco can taste if I’m the smallest amount off and refuses to drink it because he’s a snob, but you’ve mastered the art in less than a week. And, satisfying Draco’s tea sensitivity is truly an art.”

He unfolded another finger as he continued to list other facts. “You watch him fly Granger, and it’s been distracting me from my game because you’re eyeing him like you’re undressing him mid-broom, which is very unsafe and I speak from experience. I would’ve annihilated the competition, but no the tension’s way too thick for me to even try and focus on beating the Gryffindor Wonder Boy. And Draco’s not helping like a proper Slytherin because he’s not even trying to beat Potter. Your wizard is too busy showing off for you, not that you would be able to notice the pathetic way he tries to see if you’ve seen his latest dangerous stunt because you just happen to always be reading your book when he’s looking at you,” he complained.

Blaise took another sip of coffee before huffing and continuing, “And the both of you have gotten all domestic reading together in the evenings and discussing books of just about every subject, and it’s so irritating how you always agree and if you don’t, well it leads to another hour of discussion before someone gives in. I’ve seen it all before with our other predestined couple of true love and it is absolutely sickening. Why are all of you bookworms and intellectuals? Or maybe it’s because you were all so obsessed with your academics that you aren’t used to seeing what’s right in front of you. I really don’t think I can take much more, so please I beg of you, do something about your wizard before I avada myself,” spat Blaise before schooling his face into a serene expression and looking up at her.

Hermione blinked. This was a lot to take in first thing in the morning, and it felt odd to be talking to Blaise about such things before she had even talked to Draco about potentially having a small crush on him before their first real date after all of this was over. No, Blaise was just trying to get a rise out of her and trying to snoop. Feeling a wave of annoyance at his antics, she pointed her fork at him. “Talk, Zabini. Stop going in circles about Daphne and Theo. She told me he cheated on her, but I have a feeling that’s not the whole story based on what you’re saying. And, Theo doesn’t seem like the type to cheat without an explanation.”

Sighing, the wizard slumped and the bravado that made up Blaise vanished. “I did too much gossiping today, and that’s really not my story to tell. Draco or Theo can tell you, although I suspect Potter also knows at least the basic story.” He got up from the table and sent his plates into the kitchen. “Theo and Draco are off checking on the tracking devices to make sure there’s nothing wrong with them, and the others are at the apothecary. I’m off for a run, but shoot me a patronus if you need anything because I’ll be staying on the property,” he said with a small smile before leaving Hermione alone in the dining room.

She blinked at that because Harry was actually a terrible gossip. She thinks he learned from Ginny and being around quidditch players. If her best friend hadn’t mentioned anything about the former Slytherin couple, it must be something worth keeping Theo’s confidence.

Hermione managed to stay occupied before apparating to the apothecary for her first appointment. She waved at Harry and Daphne, who were both in the middle of their own appointments, as she walked over to her station to get things ready. Harry was checking on a small girl who had fractured her wrist and was in tears on her mother’s lap, while Daphne was advising an older wizard on which potions would be most effective for his ailment.

She walked out to the small waiting room and smiled at her first patient. “Hello Mr. Perkins, are you feeling better from your cold?”

It was the man whom she had given a list of muggle medicines right before Draco had whisked them away their first day. The man gave a tired smile and his brown hair was hanging limply. “I did feel a bit better, but I think I have the flu now. I was hoping you could give me something for it.”

Hermione ushered him into the office with a frown. “The flu? Let me just run a few tests, and I can give you a prescription for muggle medicine that will work.”

The man groaned as he patiently sat with Hermione’s diagnostics hanging over him. “I’ve been trying to use various potions, but nothing’s been helping.”

“Yes, I’m afraid the flu is one thing magic won’t be able to help,” said Hermione as she cancelled her spells. “It does look like the flu. I can send that prescription to the muggle pharmacy, and you should be able to pick it up by the end of the day. Make sure you get lots of rest, and please come see me if you’re not feeling better.”

Mr. Perkins nodded and stood up. “Thank you, Healer Granger.”

Daphne walked over as both of their patients left. “I only have a few more patients to see today. Do you want to go to the beach this afternoon? I think the weather will be getting a bit cooler soon, and I want to enjoy our early work day.”

Hermione smiled. “Sounds good to me, I’m sure Harry can manage himself.”

The man in question rolled his eyes as he waved goodbye to the little girl, all healed. “I can mind the office while you girls enjoy yourself. But this means I get an early afternoon tomorrow. And I want a day off when Ginny comes to visit in a few days.” Ginny had applied for time off before their suspension, and she would be staying with them for a couple weeks. She was lucky to have a certain confidentiality clearance due to her job at Gringotts that she would be able to stay with them at the Malfoy Cliffhouse. Blaise was possibly more ecstatic than Harry and had been making plans to finagle himself a new broom by the time she left.

* * *

Draco growled and loosened his tie as he stalked into the study. Theo and Blaise were already bent over some notes and looked up. “Bad day at work, dear?” drawled Blaise with a grim smile.

Taking off his glamours, Draco sank into a chair. “I don’t understand. We’ve only had one other reading besides that day at the apothecary, and they match. But we’re still nowhere closer to figuring out what is happening or who is involved.”

Theo nodded. “I’ve been cross-referencing old cases to see if there would be anything useful for us to figure out motives or any similarities, but nothing’s shown up.”

Shaking his head, Blaise frowned at the papers. “I know this was supposed to be like our final test before our promotion, but we might have to call in a few others to help us out.”

Letting out his breath, Draco nodded reluctantly. “I want to take another week or so before we make that call. We still have a while of surveillance time, and there might be more readings if we wait.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the map. You two should go for a run and get your mind off things after the long day you’ve had,” said Blaise. Theo and Draco had been up since three in the morning to check on a few of the trackers in densely populated areas and only had time for a quick breakfast before they had popped out to visit the ones stationed at more inconspicuous locations.

Draco quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a loose long-sleeved tshirt before meeting Theo on the back porch. They had just made it to the beach while talking about the case when they saw two other figures on the sand. Hermione was sitting with a book and a tank top over her swimsuit while Daphne looked like she was napping with an extremely short dress on.

Theo made a strangled sound before turning around. “I think I’ll go help Blaise out.” Draco had barely registered what his friend had said before Hermione looked up and gave him a small wave.

He found himself walking towards the girls with a smirk. He eyed her long legs on display before quickly focusing on her face. “Do you mind if I join you two?”

She gave a small smile and closed her book. “I think it’ll just be me. Daphne’s off in dreamland.” Moving over to make space on the large beach towel, she gave him her full attention. “How was your day?”

Draco gracefully sat down with a quiet groan. “This mission is a nightmare. We don’t have enough leads, and we spent today blindly going around the island checking to see if there’s anything wrong with our trackers.”

“You’re tracking for a specific magic, yes?” Hermione asked quietly, tapping her fingers on her lap.

“I can’t answer any questions for a confidential case,” muttered Draco. “But, for the purposes of amusing the Brightest Witch of our Age, yes.”

Hermione tilted her head. “Okay so hypothetically, if you’re looking for specific magic, there has to be a signature somewhere.”

“But that’s the thing, hypothetically of course. There’s no way to figure out the signature or intent. We’re just chasing a rare flare of magic and I can’t figure out the signature.” He looked over to see her thinking while worrying her lip. He was so focused on the gesture, he almost didn’t catch what she said. “Sorry?”

“How much time do you have to solve this case?” She released her lip and looked at him with an excited look in her eyes.

“I said I would give us another week or so before we called into Robards for help.”

“I have something that might help,” exclaimed Hermione quietly. “There’s a new process some Healers in the Spell Damage Research Division were working on when I was a trainee with them my first year. It can extract and analyze magical signatures with more finesse than other methods. It’ll take a week, but it might help.”

Draco smiled at her infectious excitement and felt hope. “That might work. We have a database on some magical signatures at Headquarters, so that would help a lot. Let me know what we need to prepare, and you can help teach me whenever you have time.”

Hermione nodded. “I can make a list before tomorrow morning, and we can get started after dinner tomorrow.”

Daphne shifted besides Hermione and blinked awake. “Did I miss something? Oh, hello Draco.”

“Hello Daph, I’m sorry we woke you up from your nap.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. If I sleep any longer, I won’t be able to fall asleep tonight.” She got up and stretched. “It’s such a lovely day. I think I’ll go ask Misty if we can have dinner outside today.”

“That’s a great idea. Do you want us to come up as well?” Hermione asked as Daphne began to collect her things.

“No, you two should enjoy the last few moments of daylight,” said Daphne with a smile. She bent to pick up her sketchbook when a gust of wind blew a loose sheet of paper over towards Draco.

He managed to catch it without ripping the paper and looked down to find a sketch of Theo smiling softly over a chess board. Judging from the board setup, Draco realized it was from the previous night a few moves before Theo had beaten Potter.

A dainty hand reached over to snatch it out of his hands, and he looked up to see a nervous Daphne. He pressed his lips together to keep his thoughts back before letting out a breath. Even though he had refrained from saying anything for the past few years, it was still difficult not to blurt out the truth. “I won’t say anything.”

The blonde nodded and quickly grabbed the rest of her things. “I’ll send Misty down when dinner’s ready.”

* * *

Hermione watched her friend walk away before wondering out loud, “Even if she still loves him, why does she draw a man who cheated on her? She’s just hurting herself more.” She pulled on the long wrap skirt she had been wearing earlier before sitting back down.

A sigh sounded next to her, and she turned to see Draco wearily rubbing his forehead. “They belong together.” He hesitated before continuing, “There was a misunderstanding at the end of Sixth Year, or Theo orchestrated a misunderstanding at least. But he didn’t do it to hurt her. He was so desperate to protect the girl he loved that he thought the pain would be worth it. And it was, in a way. But he’s too noble to try and make amends.”

His words eased the confusion that had been on Hermione’s mind for the past couple weeks. “I thought there was more to the story because Daphne’s experience doesn’t sound like something Theo would do. Should we tell Daphne?”

Draco quickly shook his head. “Theo would never forgive me.” He laughed ruefully, “Blaise and I have tried everything short of locking the two of them in a closet and loading Theo up with veritaserum.” He gave a sad smile. “The truth will come out eventually, and Theo’s plans kind of worked. They needed the time apart to grow up a bit, and they’re both much stronger than if they had stayed together. If they hadn’t broken up, neither of them would have survived the war unscathed.”

Hermione smiled. “They really do suit each other.”

“What do you expect? They were the two resident Slytherin nerds,” retorted Draco with a smirk.

Laughing, Hermione met his eyes. “I rather think that was you. You were always right behind my marks in school.”

His smirk grew. “Were you keeping tabs on me Granger?”

She blushed and averted her gaze to look where the sun was setting over the water. “I haven’t seen a sunset on a beach like this since my last holiday with my parents.” She realized her voice was a bit wistful and twisted her fingers in her tshirt.

“Do you not see them often?” came Draco’s soft voice from beside her.

Biting her lip, Hermione hesitated. But, a secret for a secret. Or multiple secrets, as Draco had already told her much more than she had told him. “I obliviated them before the war. I was scared the Death Eaters would come after them. So, I sent them off with new identities to Australia and hoped they would survive regardless of if I was alive at the end of the war or not. I managed to fix everything after my Eighth Year, but they didn’t take it well. I think they’ve forgiven me, but they decided to stay in Melbourne, and I don’t get a lot of spare time to go visit because of my schedule,” she trailed off and continued to stare at the sunset. She estimated that there was about ten minutes left before it disappeared over the horizon. Her voice was shaking, and she tried desperately to keep her emotions in check.

She felt Draco shift besides her and felt his large hand squeeze her right shoulder. He cleared his throat, and she looked to see him staring down at her with a sad look. “It was a good decision, Hermione. Never doubt it. And if they’re your parents, then I’m sure with a little time that you’ll be able to see many more sunsets at the beach with them.”

Hermione leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you, Draco.” She gave a small laugh, “I wonder if we would’ve talked about this at that first dinner. What if we had talked about everything that night at dinner?”

* * *

Draco felt a wave of relief when he realized she wasn’t going to cry, as he didn’t think he could handle that. He relaxed and brought his arm around her, and the scent of vanilla grew. “If we had talked about everything we’ve talked about, we would’ve been kicked out of the restaurant and at least one of us would have had a meltdown.”

Her eyes looked up at him with a twinkle in them. “It would’ve been worth it,” she whispered before she looked down at her lap.

Maybe it was the heady scent of vanilla. Maybe it had been finally feeling her soft curls when he had wrapped his arm around her. Maybe it was her finally telling him something about what made Hermione Granger Hermione Granger. Maybe it was the last few rays of sunlight setting her face aglow. Or maybe, he was just tired of holding himself back.

Draco bent down and softly kissed her forehead before he could stop himself.

And immediately froze.

Hogwarts Granger and the present Hermione Granger were quickly becoming one in his mind. He desperately began to shove every thought of her behind walls before he realized that she was looking up at him, bright eyes glowing with the dying sun.

He had barely registered her smile before she was coming closer and pecking his cheek. He could feel the spot where it would be forever burned. Draco tore down the shoddy wall he had been in the process of building and focused on holding back his desire to ravish her on the beach.

Hermione wrapped her arms around him, leaning into him even more. She gave a contented sigh. “Did you know that Blaise told me a secret this morning? Something about a crush since Fourth Year?”

Draco groaned but made a mental note to thank his friend as he tightened his hold on her. “I’m actually impressed that he held off for this long.”

* * *

A thought came to Hermione, one that she had been thinking about since her first morning at the Malfoy Cliffhouse. “Is that what you meant about the walls? Did you occlude me?”

She felt an answering rumble from his chest under her head. “Blaise is right, of course. I liked you for years, but I’ve kept most of my Hogwarts Granger thoughts wrapped up. I couldn’t have the Dark Lord find out I had a crush on his enemy’s best friend. So, you’ve lived behind a wall for the better part of the past few years. It just became a habit even if I hadn’t seen you since Eighth Year.” She felt him start to thread his fingers through her hair. “I didn’t focus on keeping them up while we’ve been here because I didn’t want to be distant. I apologize for the sudden kiss.”

Hermione looked up to notice that his eyes were open and all of his thoughts were on display, or at least the ones concerning her. “Don’t apologize. And since you’re being so honest and spilling your secrets, I think I can easily catch up to your old crush.”

His answering smile was the largest one she had seen yet, and her breath caught as she realized she wanted to see that smile again.

A pop sounded behind them. An amused Misty had appeared. “Dinner is being ready. Mister Blaise be complaining about being hungry and Misty thinks he will be down here in five minutes to find you.”

Hermione reluctantly let go as Draco thanked his elf. He swept up her things with his wand and offered her his hand to help her up. His hold loosened once she was upright, but she quickly twined her fingers in his. His large hand squeezed hers once as they made their way towards the stairs.

“Hermione, I want something more than friendship, and I don’t know if I can be patient until we get back to London.”

Smiling, Hermione stopped at the foot of the stairs. “I think you’ve been very patient. I wouldn’t mind.”

Draco raised a brow. “You wouldn’t mind? That’s not very promising.”

Laughing at his expression, Hermione clarified, “I want to see where this goes. And I promise, it looks very promising.”

With a smirk, Draco raised their hands to kiss the back of hers. “If we were back home, I would be sweeping you off your feet. That might be a bit difficult given the circumstances, especially since I’m on a mission and starting a relationship in the middle of one is a little frowned upon.”

Hermione nodded. “I agree. We can just take it slow and keep it lowkey, and then I give you full permission to woo me back in London.”

“Oh, Hermione. I said I won’t be able to sweep you off your feet. I’m sure I’ll be able to woo you on this island,” replied Draco with a grin.

They made their way up the stairs, unlinking their hands right before they were in view of their friends sitting at a dinner table on the back porch. Hermione let a small smile escape as Draco’s hand brushed against hers. It would’ve looked like an accident to their friends from such a far distance, but she could feel his warm fingers gently press against the inside of her wrist. And she was sure he could feel the rapid pace of her pulse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've finally reached Dramione! Next chapter will be where the actual plot picks up!  
> And as always, thank you soooooo much for all the kudos, comments, and for reading!!


	11. Principle

It was a few days later, and Hermione was at her desk at the apothecary smiling when she thought of how Draco had managed to drop a kiss on her cheek without their friends noticing before she had apparated away to work. They hadn’t had a lot of time alone together, but he had always managed to brush his fingers against her in the hallways of the house or send her a smile when the others weren’t looking. It was all a bit like an old romance novel, with little touches and glances here and there, but she was perfectly happy with it for now. Neither of them wanted to deal with important work, a new relationship, and balancing their friends’ reactions at the same time in one house.

Her smile quickly turned into a yelp when the door opened that afternoon to a weak looking Mr. Perkins. Harry looked up from his notes at her cry, and immediately rushed forward to prop the man in a chair. “Harry, can you run diagnostics? Mr. Perkins, I’m just going to draw some blood if that’s okay?”

The man faintly nodded before slumping in the chair. Hermione was rushing through muggle flu complications in her mind, when Harry swore besides her as he waved his wand. “Hermione, we need to get him to St. Mungo’s right now.”

She bit her lip but nodded as she quickly finished drawing the blood. All three of them had been banned from stepping foot in the hospital with their suspension. “Mr. Jenkins can floo him to the hospital and we can tell him who to take him to.”

Harry agreed, and rushed outside while levitating Mr. Perkins. Hermione blinked at the vial of blood in her hand and was casting a shield charm around it when she heard Harry’s voice filtering through the open door. “Mr. Jenkins! Could you please take him to St. Mungo’s? Ask that Harry Potter wants him in a room immediately. If you could also tell a nurse to find a Pediatric Healer and tell them it might be like Alex’s case, oh never mind let me jot a few things down and you can hand it to a nurse. If you could please stay until they run a few tests, I promise we’ll make sure we watch your shop while you’re away.”

Hermione collapsed where she had been standing and froze. Alex? The whoosh of the floo echoed, and Harry walked back into the room. “Hermione?”

She raised her eyes to meet his worried ones. “What did you mean when you said Alex?” she whispered.

“His magical core was low, and I remembered you saying that he had the flu. I don’t know if it is like Alex’s case and I might have overreacted, but I just wanted to be sure. They’ll run tests on him at St. Mungo’s to see if it is the same.”

Her fingers began to shake, and she clenched her robes. “This is all my fault. Park was right, I don’t have the instincts to do this, Harry. I just thought it was the flu and that muggle medicine would work.”

She barely noticed Harry kneeling next to her. “It’s not your fault, Hermione. Anyone would’ve done the same.”

Furiously shaking her head, she retorted, “You cast the spell to look at his magical core. I don’t think I would’ve done that if I had cast the diagnostics.”

“You don’t know that. I know you’ve saved more than a few patients based on your instincts. And, I only cast it because I’ve been adding it to all of my diagnostics after Alex’s case. We’ve been monitoring all the kids in the Pediatric Ward for any deviations in their magical cores. Honestly, Hermione, I think it was out of habit instead of any instincts. I probably just overreacted, and I’m going to face another month’s suspension for sending St. Mungo’s into a panic,” Harry gently tried to reassure her .

Hermione continued to shake and could feel tears of frustration and guilt start to leak out of her eyes. There was a knot in her chest that was tightening with every second. “If it’s the same as Alex, that means there’s a new disease and it’s probably only affecting people with muggle roots. Mr. Perkins was only a couple years older than us, so his core should be stable. There’s no way Alex’s solution of just giving him an insane amount of core replenishers will work on him.”

Harry gathered her in his arms and tried to soothe her. “We don’t know anything yet, Hermione. You need to calm down. There’s nothing we could’ve done.” She was crying so hard that she barely heard Harry call for Daphne to cancel the rest of their appointments for the day. A dainty hand was offering her a potion.

“Hermione, if we’re going to help figure out what’s wrong with Mr. Perkins, you’re going to need to calm down. This isn’t your fault, and you need to take the rest of the day off. We can figure things out tomorrow once we get test results,” Daphne softly told her.

Shaking her head, Hermione couldn’t help but continue to sob as she the panic continued to rise in her. Harry took the vial of Dreamless sleep and opened it. “Hermione, it’s only for a couple hours. You’ll be awake in time for dinner. Please take it.”

Hermione woke up to find herself in her bed at the Malfoy Cliffhouse. Her head was throbbing a bit from the effects of the potion, but she felt better. She could hear the crinkle of parchment beside her and turned her head to find Draco sitting in a chair next to her bed. Smiling faintly as she watched at how focused he was on his work, she noticed that he was working on the arithmancy equations necessary for the magical signature recognition process she had told him about. She wiggled her arm out from underneath the pillow, and his eyes shot up to look at her.

Worried grey eyes were scanning her face as he put aside his work. “How are you feeling?”

* * *

Draco felt his stomach clench as her soft smile disappeared and her large eyes began to well up with tears. Great job, Draco. He moved closer and tried to soothe her. “Sorry, I didn’t think. Harry explained something about a patient when he brought you to the house, nearly scared me half to death until he told me you were physically fine.”

Hermione shuddered, and he quietly brushed her hair back, smoothing it down in a repetitive motion. “I’ve lost patients before, but I was never the only one in charge of them. But today, it was really the first time I saw that I don’t have the instincts and skills to work in the Trauma ward.” She closed her eyes as tears began to spill. “I know I’m the wrong division at work, and I hate seeing so many injured people on a daily basis, but I don’t know what else to do.”

Frowning, Draco continued to stroke her hair and perched on the bed. “Why did you pick it in the first place? If you weren’t skilled enough, you wouldn’t have been accepted. It sounds more like you don’t like the work. And, I don’t believe for a second that you only picked it because it required the most NEWTs.”

He watched as she bit her lip for a second. Briefly distracted by her pretty pink lips, which he had been restraining himself from going near because he knew he would never be able to focus on the mission afterwards, he almost missed her response. “I just want to help people, and I thought it would be the best place to do that. Everyone knows that the Trauma ward is where the Healers do the most work to help others,” Hermione whispered and opened her eyes.

Draco couldn’t stop the laugh coming out from his mouth if he tried. “Hermione Granger, you of all people don’t need to show that you try to help others. It’s apparent in everything you do. And even if you felt like you have to prove yourself in terms of knowledge or skill, there’s nothing left to prove.” He wrapped one of his fingers in a curl and met her eyes. “You’re the biggest swot to walk the halls of Hogwarts and it’s been declared that you’re the Brightest Witch of Our Age. No one thinks Potter could have survived without you.”

He could see her mouth open to argue, but he continued, “Look at Potter. Everyone expected him to be an Auror and continue to save the world from Dark magic. But he decided to do something he liked and no one faults him for it. I’m sure he’s much happier than if he was always going on missions like I am. You should do the same.” He stroked her cheek with his knuckle and couldn’t help but keep the affection out of his voice.

Hermione sighed as she relaxed under his touch. “But I don’t know how to do that. What if I end up liking something horribly selfish that doesn’t help people or is just terrible?”

Shaking his head, Draco lifted her wrist and kissed the inside of it. “I think it’s impossible for you to do something that doesn’t help others. I promise you wouldn’t be selfish if you decided to move wards or even pick a new profession. You’re the only one who’s always trying to help those in hard places and standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. You should stand up for yourself now.”

She seemed to think about his words before gently maneuvering her fingers to twine around his. “How did you decide to be an Auror again?”

Draco played with her fingers and made a decision. He had already given away most of his secrets to the witch in front of him. What was one more? “What Theo and Blaise said was true. I did regret my role in the war, and I wanted to make amends. But I was also a bit selfish.”

He remembered hearing innocent younger Slytherins crying in the common rooms his Eighth Year because of the dirty looks and remarks they got just because of their house and who their parents had associated with. “I could survive the dirty looks, the occasional curse in Diagon Alley, and having my name dragged through the paper. I deserved it. But there were so many innocent people who were getting the same treatment. If I hadn’t let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, there could have been so many people who could have been happier. I didn’t want anyone else suffering because of my mistakes.”

Draco realized he was squeezing her fingers harder than necessary and relaxed his grip. “I never had time to date, but I don’t think I could stomach it if a future girlfriend, wife, or child of mine was getting the same treatment I was getting just by associating with me. If it was obvious that I was trying to make up for my mistakes, then maybe any innocent people with me in the future would remain innocent. Isn’t that horribly selfish of me?” whispered Draco. “People died because of my choices, but me making my amends really helps me instead.”

Hermione softly squeezed his hand. “I don’t think your reasoning is wrong. It was clear you were sorry for the role you were forced to play, and I told you everyone’s forgiven you after the trials. I’m sure your future wife and children will love you so much that even if anyone were to bring something up, it wouldn’t matter.” She blushed with a bright smile, “And for the record, it wouldn’t bother me. I’ve survived much worse than a bit of bad press, although I doubt it would happen since you’re always receiving glowing remarks in the Case of the Week.”

Draco studied the woman in front of him with a soft smile. He didn’t say anything about the small curl of hope that unfurled in his dreams of her not being his wife, but of her smiling at him like she had been doing over the past few weeks. He didn’t think she would’ve smiled at him otherwise despite what she had said. Even if being an Auror was more rewarding than he had initially anticipated, it was even more worth it to see her smiling at him like she was doing right now.

For the longest time, he had wanted to find that carefree Granger from all those years ago and keep her close. He now realized that while he had originally been intrigued by a rare relaxed Granger, he had fallen for the Hermione Granger who worked so hard to help others but held herself to impossibly high expectations. He could help her with that, and he promised himself that he would.

A knock on the door startled them, and they turned to see a frazzled Harry blink before smirking. “Draco, I need you to go downstairs. The tension is about to snap, and Blaise is clearly not helping matters by reminiscing about Hogwarts years. You need to deal with your friends before I stun all of them. I can always stun them, but I don’t know what your friends’ reflexes are like after years of being an Auror. I also don’t want to get arrested for attacking two Aurors and a civilian in the middle of a mission.”

He laughed and stood up from the bed. Reaching to tuck the covers back around Hermione, he promised, “I’ll go take care of things and bring you dinner in a little bit.”

* * *

Hermione cringed as soon as Draco left the room and Harry turned around with a predatory glint in his eyes and a mischievous grin. “So…Draco’s pretty decent. What do you think, Hermione?”

She just sank into her pillows and shook her head. “What’s happening downstairs?”

Her best friend slumped and leaned against the doorframe. “Daphne and Theo were being all distant, but then Blaise started talking about some things that happened during their time at Hogwarts. Something about potions ingredients and inappropriate uses, and then Daphne started to snipe a bit and is currently at risk of destroying her plate along with her steak. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to last without saying anything. At least Ginny is coming soon, and I won’t be surrounded by angsty Slytherin love birds anymore.”

She narrowed her eyes at his words. “What do you know?”

Harry straightened up and his green eyes were searching hers. “What do you know?”

“I know both sides of the story. Draco told me Theo’s side and Daphne told me her side.”

Shaking his head, Harry looked tired. “I know Theo did what he did because of the war and to protect her. I believe him, I mean, I did break up with Ginny to protect her before we left to find the horcruxes. You do desperate things to try and protect the people you love.”

Hermione nodded. She had done the same to her parents. Harry had broken up with Ginny. Draco had taken the Dark Mark to protect his mother. They had all done things to protect those they loved, and Theo had done the same. “This is all so complicated. I hate Voldemort.”

Harry agreed as Draco popped his head through the door with a dinner tray. “I sent the children up to bed without the rest of their dinner and managed to vanish Blaise’s dessert as he was trying to save it.”

“Thank goodness,” laughed Harry. “I was about to hex all of them.” He winked at Hermione as he left. “You children should also sleep soon.”

Draco sat with her as she ate her dinner. They chatted about the progress of figuring out the magical signatures and a new book Draco had started until Hermione finished. “Thank you, Draco. For everything,” she murmured as he banished her tray to the kitchens.

He smiled as he tucked the covers around her and watched as she took a larger dose of dreamless sleep. “It’s no problem, Hermione. Goodnight.” Draco chastely kissed her with care on the corner of her lips and turned off the lights as he walked out.

Hermione could feel the small spot where his lips had met hers tingle. She whispered goodnight as the potion quickly began to work. The knot in her chest had nearly unraveled.

* * *

Mr. Jenkins was waiting for them when they entered the apothecary the next morning. “Good morning! How was everything last night?” The old man was sitting behind the counter with the Daily Prophet in front of him.

“Hello, Mr. Jenkins. Everything was fine last night. We had to cancel our appointments, but we did keep an eye on the apothecary. All the sales have been recorded,” replied Daphne with a polite smile.

“Excellent.” He grinned and held up a file. “I managed to get my hands on a copy of Mr. Perkins’s records for you three. It seemed urgent, so I popped back into St. Mungo’s this morning when the tests were finished.”

Harry perked up and accepted the file. “Thank you very much. We’ll just be in the back room looking over these.”

“Of course. I have a few errands to run later today, but Rosaline and Veronica will be in this afternoon to help out. I’ll make sure they help with rescheduling any appointments,” replied Mr. Jenkins before turning back to his paper.

The three Junior Healers rushed into the back room and they quickly made two copies of the report. It was quiet as they studied the files, but Harry groaned after a few minutes. “It’s extremely similar to Alex’s case. It’s hard to say if any of the differences are because of differences in age or how long the illness has progressed, but this doesn’t look good.” He dug out his notebook from his satchel and flipped to his notes on Alex’s case.

Hermione nodded. “They do look very similar.” She thought for a second and froze. “Didn’t you say that Alex visited his grandparents when he became ill? Is there any chance they live in Guernsey?”

The other two paused before Harry was flipping through pages and squinted at his scrawled notes. “Yes, it was Guernsey. His grandparents moved here to hide during the war. Fuck, do you think there’s something going around the island?”

Daphne frowned. “That’s the only link between the two it seems. But no one else has been brought into St. Mungo’s with anything remotely similar. If it was something going around, there should have been more cases by now.” She looked at the charts some more. “We should work on the cure. It’s very unlikely dosing people in large amounts of core replenisher will work on everyone, and we’re going to run out because it’s very tricky to brew. It looks like Mr. Perkins is stable for now, but he needs a long-term solution. Should we warn people?”

“No, we don’t want to cause a panic. Twice is just coincidence, although this is a very large and scary coincidence. Who knows what’s actually happening?” Harry replied as he adjusted his glasses. “I think you’re right in that we need to work on a cure. We don’t have that many appointments coming up, so it might be better if you and Hermione work on that cure you had started, and I can take over the appointments for now.”

Hermione nodded. “I think that’s important. Especially with the way Marlon reacted when we tried to keep working on a cure, who knows how seriously St. Mungo’s will be taking this. I think it would be a good call if you check people’s core levels when they come in, Harry. That way we can catch any early cases.”

Her best friend nodded, but Daphne groaned. “All of the notes on our progress is in my office in St. Mungo’s, and I’m not going to be able to grab anything. No one in the office has the time to come all the way to Guernsey just to deliver some papers, and I doubt anyone else is allowed to mail the notes to us because of confidentiality reasons.”

Hermione bit her lip. “We do have a blood sample. We could try to recreate our progress, but it might take a while.”

“Oh! Ginny’s coming tomorrow evening. She has enough clearance at Gringotts that St. Mungo’s will be okay issuing her a temporary security clearance if your colleagues ward the papers properly,” exclaimed Harry. “She can pick up your notes tomorrow morning.”

Daphne brightened. “Yes, that would be perfect. I can floo call one of my colleagues to arrange it.”

“Wait, but we’re going to need a potions lab for our research. I don’t think Mr. Jenkins will be happy with us using his lab when he’s always working to make his own potions for the apothecary,” said Hermione.

“Oh, we can ask Draco. The Malfoys were always adept potions masters. If his house has been in the family for at least a generation, there has to be a lab somewhere. If we can use his, then we don’t have to worry about working in secret if there is something weird going on the island.”

Harry was writing notes and stood up. “Okay, I’ll apparate to ask Draco about using a potions lab while Daph asks her colleagues. If everyone’s okay with it, I’ll floo call Ginny right after and ask her to pick up the notes.”

“Sounds good to me,” smiled Hermione. “If everything works, we can set up the lab tonight so everything is ready to go when Ginny arrives. I’ll take care of the patients this morning while you two figure things out.”

* * *

Daphne looked at the surprisingly large potions lab in the basement of the Malfoy Cliffhouse. It looked like it hadn’t been in use for years, and Daphne was glad Hermione had suggested buying new supplies from Mr. Jenkins before coming back to the house for lunch. Everything had been sorted, and Harry was helping with the last few appointments of the afternoon while they set things up.

Hermione smiled at her. “Where should we start?”

The door opened behind them and a familiar voice asked, “Hermione? Draco’s asking if you can help him with placing some more tracking devices in more muggle places. We aren’t sure which areas would be best.” Daphne forced herself to stay calm.

“Oh, of course I can help, Theo. Will it take a while? We really should finish organizing the lab before dinner so we have enough time to prepare a few things before Ginny gets here tomorrow,” Hermione was looking at all the supplies in the room with a frown.

“Is there anything I can help with?” Theo’s voice was stiff and full of formality and Daphne could feel a sense of panic rising in her. She wouldn’t be able to handle this. She was about to open her mouth to say she could handle things on her own, which would have been a lie, but her friend had beat her to it.

“Oh, that’s very kind of you Theo. I’ll be back as quickly as I can!” Hermione smiled at them and didn’t seem to notice how Daphne was barely breathing and Theo had frozen by the door. The door closed. Daphne could smell mint even through the confusing odors of various potions ingredients and the musty scent of the lab. She was hyper aware of him taking a breath behind her and forced herself not to react.

“Would you like me to organize it the way you liked the school lab or the one at your home,” he murmured behind her.

She swallowed and dug her hands into a box to hide her trembling hands. Without turning around, she replied “The one at my home would be good. Just do the best that you can. I can fix everything later.”

They worked in silence for the next hour, and Daphne spent every second wishing she had learned how to occlude. She was so distracted by his movements on the other side of the room that she caught herself losing count of ingredients several times. Every few minutes, a new memory of a much younger and happier Daphne and Theo spending hours in different potions labs came to mind.

Daphne had finally managed to focus as she neatly arranged a box of weights next to the scales when Theo cleared his throat. She forced herself to look up to see his blank eyes and a slight grimace on his face. “I arranged everything the way I remembered. I apologize for the mistakes. I need to go check on something for the case.” He turned sharply and closed the door with a soft click behind him.

She took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. Opening them, she spent the next ten minutes meticulously checking everything he had touched. She looked over the glass bottles with the precise numbers of specific ingredients, the unconventional arrangement of different materials on shelves that Daphne was particular to, the specific protection charms she used on potions from the apothecary that she always played with to improve, the cleaning charms on the cauldrons she liked that smelled like lemons, and a small box with her favorite ingredients that she always kept neatly in a corner.

He had gotten everything right. It was perfect.

Daphne couldn’t take it anymore. She collapsed on the dusty Malfoy floor and sobbed.

* * *

Theo crouched in the small storage room next door with his hands pressed to his face. He could hear her muffled sobs. The last time he had heard her cry had been when her cat had died from old age their fifth year, and that had been several days of her sobbing in his bed. He sometimes had nightmares of Daphne crying after his stunt in sixth year. They were only slightly less prevalent than Voldemort killing Daphne in a fit of rage in front of him and her family. But this. This was as if someone had killed her cat in front of her. And it was his fault.

He knew he had gotten everything right. He had originally tried to make a couple mistakes on purpose, but his hands had moved without thinking to place everything the way it had been in one of Daphne’s favorite places.

Closing his eyes, he clenched his fists on the floor. He needed to pull himself together if he was going to help with the case. He desperately began to pull his thoughts behind walls and grew frustrated as he failed with every attempt.

Theo didn’t know how long he had been crouched in that position until the door softly opened and closed shut. He could tell it was Blaise from his footsteps.

“Theo? What’s wrong? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

Theo opened his eyes and was horrified to find that he had been silently crying. “Can you get Draco?” his voice cracked as he spoke, and he clenched his fists tighter.

“You can’t use occlumency forever, Theo. It’s going to destroy your mind,” murmured Blaise.

“I know that,” growled Theo, “but I need to focus on the mission. I can’t keep worrying about Daphne, or else I’m going to be useless on the case, and I might as well send Robards a letter of resignation. So, Blaise, unless you want to do this mission a man down, go get Draco.”

His friend was quiet, amber eyes studying him, before nodding resignedly. “I’ll go find him.”

* * *

Hermione was grinning as she led Draco by the hand into a muggle bakery with lots of tables and no customers at the late hour. They had already been to a few places to hide the tracking devices, and this was their last spot. There was a small bookshelf by the window of the bakery, and the tracking device could easily fit by the wall next to it where it wouldn’t be likely to be disturbed.

It was a little odd to be walking around together with both of them glamoured, but Hermione was just glad she could spend more time with him. It was also nice that he had decided not to change anything about his eyes.

The woman behind the counter smiled hello at them, and the perpetual scent of baked goods filled the large bakery. “What can I get for you today? There isn’t a lot left since we’re about to close, but we have a few pastries and cakes that we made earlier today.”

Draco looked down at her. “I guess we could get a cake.”

She blinked. “For what?”

“It’s your birthday in September, and that’s coming up in a couple weeks. That’s a good enough excuse for me. We can have it for dessert tonight, and I’m sure the others wouldn’t complain.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow. “How do you know my birthday?”

He winked at her, “You’re not the only one capable of keeping tabs on people. And I’ve noticed you have a sweet tooth despite having dentists for parents.” She was surprised he remembered their conversation from their first week on the island, let alone exactly what her parents did for a living.

The shop owner laughed. “That’s a very sweet boyfriend you have there, young lady.”

Looking up at his smirk, Hermione smiled. “He really is.” She gently let go of his hand and pushed him towards a table in the front corner of the shop. “I’ll just look at the cakes. I know what Harry likes, and he’s the one who’s going to eat most of it.”

Draco stared at her with confusion in his eyes. Hermione rolled her eyes and gently tapped his watch with her finger. He nodded and handed her his wallet. “I’ll just sit down at a table. That bookshelf looks like it has some interesting titles. Get whatever you want. We can have any other pastries or cakes tomorrow.”

She nodded and made her way towards the cake display. Asking a few questions about the various cakes, Hermione made sure to keep a close eye to make sure he had enough time to do his job.

* * *

Ginny arrived late the next afternoon to great fanfare. She had been successful in bringing Daphne’s notes, and Harry was glad to finally see his girlfriend in person after a few long weeks.

But no one had been happier than Blaise Zabini.

“So, you see, Red. In order to truly show my superior skills, I need a new broom. It’s truly a disgrace that I’m competing with the others when they have an advantage purely because of their connections. And I’m now best friends with your boyfriend, so I think that means we are also essentially best friends as well. In Slytherin, we give presents to our new friends. If there’s anything I can get you, I just want the newest broom in return,” Blaise was making his case at the dinner table, much to the amusement of the others.

Daphne had disappeared with the notes Ginny had brought, claiming she wasn’t hungry, and Theo was stonily eating his meal while keeping an eye on the map. Blaise was doing a spectacular job of trying to make the slight tension disappear with his performance. On second thought, he didn’t seem to care about the tension. He was just focused on getting a new broom.

“Hey, I didn’t get a present!” protested Harry around a mouth of the second chocolate cake Hermione and Draco had brought home from the bakery the previous day.

Ginny waved her hand as she leaned on her boyfriend’s shoulder. “Hush, Harry. The grownups are talking.” She leveled bright brown eyes at Blaise. “Anything I want, Zabini? So, I could ask for the moon, and I just have to get you a broom in return?”

Blaise frowned. “Ok there are going to have to be some restrictions on this, Red. But I want the newest broom on the market. My Ad Astra is holding me back.”

“You have an Ad Astra? That’s one of the best brooms on the market. I used to ride one when I was with the Harpies,” exclaimed Ginny with brows raised.

“See, one of the best brooms on the market. There are plenty of brooms not on the market, like Potter’s. And the Harpies don’t use Ad Astras anymore, so there has to be something better,” countered Blaise.

Draco sent Hermione an amused smirk over the top of his wine glass. She had a feeling about what was about to happen, and she silently summoned the vials of sobering potion.

“The differences are miniscule at this point,” Ginny waved off his concerns. “I think if you were to race anyone on a different broom, you would lose. The excuses you’re making are of someone who’s trying to blame the lack of his own skills on his broom.”

Narrowing his eyes, Blaise stood up from the table. “Fine, let’s race. Brooms will be randomly assigned.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “This isn’t anything personal, Blaise. It’s not like you were even on the school team.”

Jumping in at the indignant noise coming from his friend’s throat, Draco cleared his throat. “Actually, Blaise should have made the team. His mother was just afraid of any injuries permanently disfiguring him and forbade him from playing.”

Hemione didn’t want to deal with any temper tantrums that were sure to flare up no matter the outcome of this race. “I’m going to go shower and read a book. I’m only healing injuries if you all drink sobering potions.”

She frowned when Theo also excused himself and headed for his room. He had been behaving oddly since the previous day, well more oddly than usual. She was debating if she should talk to him when a familiar hand gently squeezed her shoulder.

Draco gave a tired smile as he looked down at her with his broom slung over his shoulder. “He’ll be okay, Hermione. It’s not a good idea to bother him when he’s spending every spare amount of energy on his walls.”

“That can’t be healthy,” she protested.

The weary blond nodded as he brushed his knuckle against her cheek as footsteps approached. “It’s not healthy. But it’s much better than if he wasn’t in control of his emotions right now. There are too many risks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a medical case! And Dramione and Nottgrass and Ginny's here finally and Blaise just really wants a fancy broom... This was supposed to be 2.5 chapters, but I couldn't resist haha.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and the comments and kudos!


	12. Opinion

Hermione woke up to find herself in the living room and her fingers clutching a paperback book. She could feel someone next her and shifted to see Draco reading a book of his own in the soft lamplight. His right arm was curled around her body and tightened as he felt her shift. He looked down at her with a tired smile, his fingers playing with one of her curls. “Hello there.”

She turned her body to lean closer to him. “What time is it?”

He checked his watch. “It’s a little past midnight. I was going to carry you up if you didn’t wake up soon. Everyone’s already in bed.”

Smiling, Hermione looked up at him. “I guess I got sleepy waiting for you.” She had been planning to spend the evening reading and going to bed early, but Draco had asked her for a little time to work on figuring out the magical signatures. The two of them had been so busy over the past few days with their respective cases that they hadn’t been able to spend a lot of time together.

She could see the affection in his eyes, and she was surprised at how close they had become in a matter of weeks. “I don’t think I’ll be able to do a slow relationship with you when we go back. It’s going to be odd not to see you every evening,” she softly confessed.

He smirked. “Well, we can make arrangements for us to meet more often.” He leaned to drop a kiss on her forehead.

She chased him after he pulled back and reached up to kiss his cheek. She placed another one on the corner of his lips, but he quickly moved away. Frowning in confusion, she asked, “Is something wrong?”

Draco laughed and picked up her wrist to kiss it. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just trying very hard not to kiss your lips. I’m never going to be able to focus once I get a taste. I might as well give up on the mission because I’ll just spend all of my time with you.” He winked and kissed her fingers before twining his own around them. “Although, if you’re fine with us abandoning ship, there’s a lovely empty Malfoy property in the French countryside I could take us to right now. I can guarantee lots of proper kisses there.”

Feeling flattered but frustrated, Hermione groaned. “You know we can’t do that. Well, I hope you’re making progress on the case. I don’t know if I can hold back, and I might ambush you one day.”

Draco dropped his book and turned to face her properly. “I finished! That’s why it took me so long,” he exclaimed with a proud smile. “I meant to tell you when I came down an hour ago, but I didn’t want to wake you. Do you see what I meant by saying I won’t be able to focus?”

Laughing, Hermione brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen into his eyes. “So, does this mean I get a proper kiss now?”

He brushed his knuckle against her cheek and shook his head. “Not yet. Your idea was brilliant, by the way. The reason why nothing we tried had worked was because it’s actually two magical signatures woven together. I need to double check everything tomorrow, but it shouldn’t take too long.”

“That’s wonderful! Do you know who cast the magic then?”

Draco shook his head his head with a grimace. “It seems familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it. I’ll work on it for a few days before I contact headquarters with a request. They’re testing us on our surveillance skills, so we’ve been keeping the mission under wraps, but we’ll call in reinforcements if we still can’t figure it out.”

“And then I’ll get my kiss?” Hermione leaned in closer with a hopeful look.

He laughed and kissed her nose. “Yes, when all this is over, you’ll get your kiss.”

* * *

A couple days later, Hermione was fanning herself while looking at the potion Daphne was currently stirring. With Daphne’s notes, they had managed to recreate what they had brewed a few weeks earlier, but they were stuck. She desperately wanted to cast a cooling charm on the room, but they had to be careful about the magic they performed around the potion because they didn’t know enough about the disease to know what would affect it.

“What do you think about using a glass stirring rod instead?” asked Daphne as she studied the cauldron in front of her. “I know what we’re doing right now is textbook standard, but we might as well experiment a bit.” She prodded a small cube connected to the potion bubbling in the cauldron and the vial of Mr. Perkins’s blood that was stuck on an 80. The cube measured the efficacy of a potion against whatever problem the potion was meant to solve, and it had been at an 80 since the day before.

Hermione sighed. “I guess it can’t hurt. Where are the glass stirring rods?”

Her friend strode towards a cabinet, but frowned when she couldn’t open it. “That’s odd. I can’t even spell it open. It might be warded to only open for a Malfoy’s signature."

“Draco should just be in the study. The three of them have been holed up there working on some magical signatures all morning.” Hermione conjured her patronus and sent it off to ask Draco to come down when he had a moment. “In the meantime, we should make a list of anything else we could try.”

A knock sounded on the door about twenty minutes later. Draco’s head popped in. “Did you need something? Misty also said dinner will be ready in half an hour.”

“Draco, I think one of your cabinets is warded. Would you mind opening it?” asked Daphne as she gestured towards the back wall.

“Of course, I should have thought to do it earlier.” Draco walked up and tapped the door handle, but it wouldn’t budge. “That’s odd.” He frowned.

Hermione walked closer. “What’s wrong?”

“It should open. Oh wait,” he muttered and flicked his wand with a snap of his wrist, and a yellow haze flowed out of his wand and settled over the room before disappearing.

The potion in the cauldron crackled and turned from a muddy brown to a mustard yellow, and the instrument measuring the potion’s effectiveness gave a sharp whistle. Hermione’s jaw dropped open as Daphne rushed to check on the cube and looked up with an incredulous look. “It’s at an 85.” She whirled to look at a confused Draco by a now successfully open cabinet. “What did you do?”

He winced. “I was working on one of the magical signatures, and a trace of it was still on my wand. I had to shake it off my wand to use my own magic. Sorry, did I mess up your potion?”

Hermione rapidly shook her head. “No, you actually improved it. We’ve been stuck on it for hours.” She cast a few diagnostic spells on the potion and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Casting a stasis charm, she raised her eyes to look at the two former Slytherins in the room. “We need to make a few notes, but I think this illness is actually connected to your case, Draco. Can you give us the other magical signature?”

He groaned and rolled his neck. “This is going to be a nightmare if this is linked. Odd magic with complicated signatures combined with a mysterious illness that has all of you freaked out. Okay, we’re going to need a meeting. I’ll go upstairs and grab the others, I’m assuming you want Potter to be here?”

“Yes, Harry should be here,” replied Hermione as she jotted a few notes down. “Thank you, Draco.”

The others straggled into the potions lab over the next few minutes, and Draco came in last with a folder in hand. He frowned when he saw Ginny Weasley perched on a stool. “No, Weaselette. We already have three civilians involved. I don’t need to deal with any more paperwork,” he growled as he put his notes on the counter.

Harry frowned. “Hey, I resent that.”

Rolling his eyes, Draco grit his teeth. “Fine. We already have one Boy Who Won’t Die, the Brightest Witch of Our Age, and one civilian. I don’t want to add an ex-Harpies Chaser to the list.”

Daphne clucked her tongue, “I’m sure you could’ve come up with a better description for one of your oldest friends.”

Blaise shrugged from where he was leaning against the wall. “It might be useful to have Red. She’s already living here and it’s been hard to keep everything from her. Besides, she knows a lot of curses from Gringotts and we might wake up to the house booby-trapped one morning.”

Shaking his head, Harry muttered, “Don’t encourage her, Zabini. I know you’re still trying to get a new broom, and I saw the negotiation plans you left in the kitchen.” He turned towards his girlfriend. “No, Ginny. Draco’s right, this might be dangerous. You should go upstairs. We can go for our fly later this afternoon.”

“Actually, Blaise has a point. She could be useful if we need to use more Ancient Runes with our case. I think we’ve hit our limit, and they teach extra things at Gringotts. Plus, it wouldn’t be that much paperwork to get her security clearance because of her position at Gringotts. She already got permission to stay here,” interjected Theo.

Draco groaned at the Weaselette’s triumphant grin. “Fine, but then we might as well just make this a joint investigation.” He tapped his wand to his watch with a grimace. “Let’s break for lunch while Robards approves this and gets permission from St. Mungo’s and Gringotts. This way, they can tell us anything confidential that might be relevant to the case.”

* * *

Hermione entered the potions lab with a full stomach and was amused to see a large board that someone had conjured. Theo was in front of it and dividing it into different sections. Draco shot her a faint smile as she took a seat in front of the board. “Let’s get started, as you are all now honorary Auror consultants.”

He took his wand out and gestured to a few pictures on the board, including one that seemed to be a large map of the island. “The Aurors received a report of an odd magic on the island a few weeks ago. The three of us were sent on a basic surveillance mission to figure out what the effects were and who was casting it. We didn’t see anything until the Healers got here the next week. We’ve gotten a few readings since then, but there has been no pattern and nothing has come up. We recently managed to figure out the magical signatures, but that’s about it.” He looked down at the papers in hand and shook his head. “Give me a minute, I must have put the report in a different file. Granger, why don’t you go while I look for it.”

Nodding, Hermione stood up and waved her wand at the board while Draco stepped back and opened a different folder. “St. Mungo’s had a child come in a few weeks ago with an odd illness that seemed like a simple muggle disease that wasn’t responding to any treatments. It turned out his magical core was being drained, but he was healed through the very unconventional method of nearly overdosing him with core replenishing potions.”

Blaise let out a low whistle. “That’s very dangerous, playing with core replenishing potions. His core was being drained through a muggle disease?”

“Yes, it was very odd and it only worked because he was so young.” Hermione put up Mr. Perkins’s test results. “We had a man our first day who seemed to have a bit of a cold and then the flu, but he came back a couple weeks later and his magical core was very weak. He’s in stable condition at St. Mungo’s for now, but there’s no cure and they’re not going to have enough core replenishing potions if more people are sick.”

Leaning forward, Theo studied the chart with an interested gleam in his eyes. “And it’s the same disease?”

“According to tests, yes. Daphne and I have been working on a cure, and Draco accidentally let loose a magical signature from his case near our cauldron, and he actually improved it. This means the illness is actually something magical and it might be caused by the odd magic that the Aurors have seen on the island.”

Ginny sat up in her seat. “So, someone is going around draining magical cores?”

“We aren’t sure. We’ve only seen two cases, but the potion reacting is very suspicious,” replied Daphne. “Once we add the second signature and run more tests, we’ll at least be further along on creating the cure while the Aurors figure out who’s invented this and for what purpose.”

Draco stepped towards the table they were gathered around and unrolled a large parchment. There was a yellow line snaking around the top while a purple one mirrored it at the bottom.

“What is this?” Ginny whispered quietly, as Draco traced the lines with his fingers.

“They feel very familiar, but none of us have figured it out yet. We were going to ask Robards tomorrow. It doesn’t seem like insidious magic to us, so I’m still not sure if this is directly linked to your case, Hermione.”

Daphne ran her own finger over the lines and frowned. “I don’t feel anything. They feel familiar to you?”

Nodding, Draco gestured to Theo. “Well, Blaise also can’t feel anything, but Theo and I can feel a tingle. It might be something we came across on a previous case without Blaise or something else.”

Harry ran his finger across the yellow line and then the purple one with a grimace. “Oh, I can feel something. It’s actually a little uncomfortable, almost like I’ve been the sun for too long.”

Draco frowned. “It’s uncomfortable? That’s odd. When would all of us have been exposed to the same magic?”

“Yeah, it’s not painful, but it’s just unpleasant. The purple one is a bit worse. They do seem a little familiar though,” mused Harry as he stared at the lines.

Hermione leaned around Draco and brushed a finger across the yellow one. A prickling sensation danced around her fingertip. “Harry’s right. It’s a little uncomfortable. I don’t know what it is, but it does seem familiar.”

She moved her finger towards the edge of the purple line and cried out at the pain that exploded when she made contact. It felt like a hungry flame was traveling through her arm before bursting into a large fire hotter than fiendfyre in her chest. She could hear screaming and barely recognized that it was her own voice through the pain tearing through her. She was distantly aware of someone yelling her name and grabbing her waist as her legs buckled before there was only darkness.

* * *

Hermione opened her eyes to find diagnostics hanging over her head. She could hear Harry softly talking to Ginny in the corner of the room and saw a blond head from the corner of her eye. It was dark outside, so she must have been unconscious for more than a few hours. Draco was slumped over in a chair beside her, with his head on her bed and a hand tightly wrapped around hers. She smiled at the sight of him sleeping next to her but winced at a soft twinge in her chest.

“Hermione? How are you feeling?” Harry was rushing over as the diagnostics flashed above her. He cast a few more spells in rapid succession. Draco jolted awake besides her, grey eyes carefully scanning her face for a few moments, and breathed a sigh of relief when she smiled at him.

“My chest hurts a little bit. What happened?” There was a faint pressure on her chest, but it was nothing like the fire she had felt earlier.

“There’s nothing physically wrong with you. I think the magic on the parchment reacted badly with your old curse wound from that night at the Department of Mysteries.” Harry frowned at the diagnostics. “You should be completely fine in a few more hours. Your scans look much better than they were a few hours ago.”

She froze and met Harry’s worried green eyes. A cold sense of dread was flooding her mind. “If it reacted with my injury, then the purple signature has to belong to Dolohov. He’s the one who cursed me at the Ministry”

Draco stiffened where he had been leaning over her and his grip on her hand tightened. He looked up. “Weasley, I need you to go get the others in here, _now_.” Ginny nodded with a frightened look and hurried out of the room.

Letting out a breath, Harry gave a grim smile. “I’ll go see if I can get you some dinner. You should eat a little bit.”

She was shaking a bit but relaxed as Draco rubbed circles into her palm and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I don’t like you scaring me like that, Hermione,” he murmured into her neck, “I need this case to be over and for you to safely be a normal Healer in St. Mungo’s soon.”

Hermione laughed softly. “I didn’t realize this would happen. The next time I’m suspended for blowing up a room, I’ll refuse to go on a volunteer trip.”

Draco huffed a laugh before leaning back. “I need to hear this story later. I didn’t realize you three are here because you caused an explosion at St. Mungo’s.”

“Well, now I can tell President Marlon that it was actually Dolohov’s fault,” quipped Hermione.

“How do you know it’s him?” He smoothed a few strands of hair away from her face.

“If you’ve interacted with someone’s magic in some way, then it might seem familiar unless you’re well acquainted with it. If the magic had a profound effect, then any past traces can flare up.”

“So that’s why the magic would seem familiar to me, Theo, and Potter. I wonder who the yellow one belongs to” Draco frowned when she grimaced at the ache in her chest.

He stood up and let go of her hand. “Let me go see if I can find you a pain relief potion.”

“No need, Draco. Here you go, Hermione,” said Daphne as she walked into the room with the others. “I just finished making my version, so you should feel better in a few seconds.”

Thanking her, Hermione quickly downed the potion she was handed and breathed a sigh of relief as the ache eased to a low throbbing. She closed her eyes as Harry and Draco explained to the others how the purple magical signature must have belonged to Dolohov, and now they needed to figure out if it was actually linked to the illness affecting magical cores and if anyone else is involved.

She opened her eyes when she heard Ginny give a weak laugh. “Those lines were magical signatures? I’ve never seen them look like that before.”

“We were having issues analyzing the reading until Hermione helped us untangle the two signatures. The parchment keeps the signatures so we can use them for different tests, especially since we haven’t been getting a lot of readings.”

“Well it’s a good thing I have clearance. I’ve dealt with just about everyone’s magical signatures for my Gringotts apprenticeship. I’ll probably be able to recognize most of them because I have to mimic the signatures to work on different people’s vaults,” smirked Ginny. “Give me the parchment, and I can probably confirm Dolohov’s signature and who the yellow one belongs to.”

Harry glared at his girlfriend. “No. Did you not just see what happened to Hermione? This is dangerous.”

Tossing her long red hair back, Ginny countered, “You’re already dealing with one of the worst death eaters of all time, Harry. Chances are, you’re dealing with more. Besides, all the people who cursed me are dead. If I’ve already dealt with the magical signature at Gringotts, I shouldn’t have an adverse reaction.”

Hermione closed her eyes as the two continued to fight. She was starting to get a headache from all of the noise. “All right you two, we’re going outside and figuring out this lover’s spat,” shouted Draco over the arguing couple. He gave Hermione a worried look. “Daphne, can you make sure Hermione’s okay?” The blonde healer nodded her head, and Draco was pushing the two stubborn former Gryffindors out of the room.

Daphne looked over the diagnostics Harry had cast earlier and helped Hermione sit up a little in bed before placing the tray Harry had brought up with a bowl of soup on her lap. “We’re going to have make sure you rest tonight. Your magic reacted so badly, it’s basically like you did four major operations in a row.” She conjured a cool washcloth to place on her forehead.

Nodding, Hermione looked over at the remaining two Aurors as her fingers twisted in her blanket. “I thought all of the Death Eaters were all gone.”

The two looked at each other before Theo cleared his throat. “They’ve all been accounted for. I believe Dolohov was sent back to Russia to also be tried for crimes he committed there, and their wizarding prison sentences are much harsher than the ones in Great Britain. Although, if he’s somehow performing spells in Guernsey, something happened.”

Blaise nodded. “Some of the minor death eaters were recently freed, and some of them weren’t imprisoned because of extenuating circumstances like Draco. But there was a lot going on right after the final battle, someone could have slipped through the cracks. I’m still confused on why they would be draining magical cores, and why here of all places?”

The door opened to a furious Harry and a determined looking Ginny. Draco just looked weary behind them and was carrying the parchment from earlier. “It’s been decided that Weaselette is going to touch the signatures, and that Potter has the right to intervene whenever necessary.”

Harry was already conjuring a small couch in the corner of the room and his green eyes were blazing as he perched on top of it. “Let’s get this over with.”

* * *

Draco hesitated and unrolled the parchment on the small table in the room by Hermione’s bed. He leaned on the wall by Hermione and watched as the youngest Weasley leaned over it and carefully touched the purple one. “This is definitely Dolohov.”

“How can you tell, Red?” Blaise inched closer and looked dubious.

“I don’t think I would’ve been able to tell right away without Hermione putting it in my mind because I never worked directly on his vault. I did have to go in and help out with some transfers to Russia a few months ago.”

“And you didn’t question that?” Draco raised an eyebrow.

“I did,” bristled Ginny as she turned to him. “but the goblins told me that this was standard procedure, especially since he had family abroad. They were pretty regularly scheduled too, but I guess I’ll check on that when I get back.”

Nodding, he made a note to also have the Aurors talk to the goblins as well. He gestured to the yellow line.

It seemed like the world had gone silent as Ginny Weasley brushed a finger over the yellow line and immediately turned white. “Rookwood,” she whispered.

No one spoke for a couple minutes until Blaise groaned. “Fuck, so we’re dealing with Death Eaters.”

Theo conjured a black board in the room and began to talk as he used a piece of chalk to write out his thoughts. “Okay, so if two Death Eaters are involved, there’s a better chance that their magic is linked to the illness. We know Dolohov is one of the most dangerous death eaters, especially since he invented his own spells and curses for fun, and he’s killed the most rebels during both wars. I’m not as familiar with Rookwood, so I’m not sure where he fits in here.”

Draco’s mind was still reeling at the implications of what Ginny had just said. “Are you sure?”

The redhead gulped and nodded. “I had to spend a week dismantling the wards on his vault because the Department of Mysteries needed to get in and check on a few things. I don’t know what they did, but I definitely know his signature.”

Daphne frowned. “Why would they be draining people’s magical cores?”

Theo scribbled DOM under Rookwood’s name on the board as Harry groaned and collapsed on the cot. “I don’t know about that, but if Rookwood is involved, anything is possible. He was with the Department of Mysteries in the first war and he told Voldemort how to work with the Hall of Prophecies. Who knows what he got up to during his time there? Not to mention the fact that he also ran it under Voldemort. Maybe they were working on something terrible and it’s only just come up again?”

There were too many thoughts and ideas swirling in Draco’s head. He realized everyone was looking at him. It wasn’t anything new, but it was a bit startling to have Harry Potter look to him for directions. “Right, Theo and Blaise, we’re going to have to call in reinforcements. We’re going to alert Robards tonight and ask for a few Senior Aurors at least two people from the Department of Mysteries here by tomorrow. Robards is going to have to come in person for a briefing. If he’s busy, he needs to send Deputy Head Marks.” He was making more plans in his mind, as he talked. Draco looked over at the non-Aurors in the room and felt his stomach twist. “Weaselette and the Healers are going to have to go somewhere else because this just got too dangerous.”

Potter stood up and had a steely look in his eyes. “No. We’re staying here. We can help you solve this, and nothing’s happened to us yet. If the Death Eaters are truly involved, they can’t be after any of us because nothing’s happened to us.”

Hermione nodded in a determined way that quickly pushed Draco to his wit’s end. “You said there was more than two bouts of magic. That means that more people could be ill, and it would be faster for us to treat them with a cure here. We should be close to figuring things out, and we can also monitor people to see if they’ve come down with whatever this disease is.”

Clenching his fists, Draco found himself shouting as he glared at the others in the room, “Nothing’s happened to you, _yet_! Who knows what the bigger plan is? We’ve spent nearly a month here with absolutely no leads, and all of a sudden, we find out that two of the most notorious Death Eaters are involved and possibly on this island with us! They’re both very intelligent and ruthless duelists. We’re talking about the most dangerous Death Eater besides Bellatrix and a Death Eater who was a spy for years and ran a department of _literally_ mysteries. They should both be incarcerated in some manner, but this magic is fresh and they’re draining magical cords. This is an actual nightmare,” bellowed Draco as panic was clawing its way through his chest and his hands were shaking with unstable magic.

It had been too quiet. Of course, there was no way the Death Eaters would go quietly after Voldemort’s death. They all returned and were ready to wreak havoc after a decade of peace. This would lead to a panic, especially if there was a muggle disease involved in killing people. There would be more fighting and torture and stolen choices and darkness. Everything he thought he had left behind was crawling back. He couldn’t breathe and dark spots were appearing his vision.

He flinched when a small hand curled around one of his fists. “Draco, you need to calm down. Breathe. Occlude. Just close your eyes.” Hermione was softly murmuring to him and rubbing small circles into his hand as she got him to release his fists.

Draco pulled up his walls and shoved everything behind them. The shield was flimsy and already starting to crack. He grit his teeth through the pain and forced the walls to hold before slowly opening his eyes to see everyone staring at him with worried gazes. “I apologize for that,” he said in a formal voice that he hadn’t heard come out of his mouth in a very long time. It was beyond flat and nothing he had used since his seventh year. He realized that Hermione was leaning out of the bed at an odd angle to hold onto his hand, and he helped adjust her to a more comfortable position.

Blaise gave a shaky smirk. “It’s okay, you’re one of the only ones who hasn’t had a meltdown yet in this house. I mean, Potter’s too dense to have a meltdown, and I don’t hold anything back long enough to have a panic attack. I was wondering when you were going to crack with everything going on, mate.”

Draco noticed Daphne and Theo glance at each other before quickly averting their eyes. Daphne cautiously looked at Draco. “I think Hermione is right, Draco,” she said slowly as if she was dealing to a skittish horse, “We already had a patient go to St. Mungo’s and everyone on the island knows that we’ll be here for another month. It would be suspicious if we were to disappear all of a sudden.”

The others nodded, and Draco closed his eyes as his head began to throb. His shield wasn’t going to last even an hour. “Alright. Blaise, go message Robards and make sure the relevant people are here tomorrow at nine. Theo, go work on a briefing for tomorrow morning. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just a summary. It’s not like we know that much anyways. Everyone else go to sleep and be ready for tomorrow.”

Blaise nodded and immediately left, while Theo took his time looking at Harry and then Hermione. His mouth flattened into a small line before he turned to Daphne. “Would you mind helping me with the illness details and tell me about your progress on the potion for the report?”

Daphne nodded and walked towards the door. “Of course, I can. I can be professional.” She glanced back at her fellow Healers, “I’ll see you in the morning, and I rearranged our patients for the afternoon tomorrow so we can stay to help if need be. Harry, you’re still going to have to take most of them. There’s no way Hermione’s going to be well enough to heal others by tomorrow.”

Making to follow her out, Theo paused and looked at Draco. “I’m fine but if you need my help with your walls, just come find me.”

Harry yawned and turned towards Hermione. “Will you be alright tonight? I can leave the diagnostics running if you want.”

Hermione shook her head. “I’ll be fine, Harry. You and Ginny should go to sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

“Okay, but just shout if you need anything,” said Ginny with a small wave. She looked oddly drained, and Draco remembered that the two Death Eaters they had been talking about had caused the Weasley family much grief. He threw the thought behind his walls, and sat down in the chair next to Hermione.

She gave him a small smile and reached for one of his hands. “I’m sorry I forced you to occlude in front of everyone.”

He let out a breath and allowed her to rub circles on his hand. “No, I needed that. Thank you.” His voice was flat, and he didn’t like seeing her flinch from his tone.

Draco closed his eyes and relaxed as her fingers continued to soothe him. He slowly let parts of his wall down and tested the state of his mind. The panic and fear were still there, but it was more manageable with her calming presence. He let down enough to ease the throbbing in his head and began to organize the details he had panicked about earlier into something manageable that would be a good base to use for tomorrow’s meetings.

He opened his eyes with a smile. This was much better than having Theo knock him out. “Are you feeling alright?” he asked, and was relieved to hear a note of worry in his voice.

Hermione grinned. “I’ll be okay. What happens now?”

Groaning, Draco adjusted their hands so that he was rubbing circles into her palm. “Now, you rest. We’ll figure everything out in the morning. I don’t think any of us have the capacity to do anything but sleep right now.”

* * *

Hermione bit her lip as she looked at the exhausted man besides her. She was also close to having a panic attack over having two Death Eaters loose on the same island as them. The only thing keeping her calm was having Draco next to her.

“Do you mind staying with me tonight? I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep,” she whispered. She was exhausted, but she didn’t know if she could turn her mind off tonight.

His grey eyes studied her for a moment before a tired smile appeared. “Of course. Let me just check in with the others and take a quick shower. Finish your soup, and I’ll be right back.” He cast a warming charm on her cooling soup, and kissed her forehead.

She nodded, and forced herself to eat. Her mind was threatening to run away with worst case scenarios, but she focused on every spoonful. Once she finished, she cast a spell to clean her teeth and a gentle _scourgify_ on her body. She didn’t have the energy to manage a shower. Both spells were fine if used sparingly. She eased her body out of bed in order to slip into her pajamas. The simple movements had her exhausted, and she quickly fell back into the bed.

Draco entered the room twenty minutes later and smiled at her. He slipped into the bed and turned off the lights with a flick of his wand. She felt him move closer, and she turned her face to smile at him in the dark. He pressed a kiss to her cheek before wrapping a careful arm around her waist. “Good night, Hermione,” he murmured.

“Good night, Draco,” she whispered back.

* * *

Daphne flexed her fingers as she put down her quill. Skimming over the report she had just finished, she allowed herself a small smile at her work despite her exhaustion. She looked up and saw Theo writing with a concentrated frown.

It was almost as if they were back in their Fifth Year, where they had both pulled multiple all-nighters together, studying in the library and the Slytherin Common Room. The room was dark except for a few candles at the kitchen table, and Theo’s handsome features were even more pronounced. This was definitely something she would have to sketch later.

Gently clearing her throat, she waited for her partner to look up. His eyes looked up at her in exhaustion, and they lacked the coolness she had seen for the past few weeks and years. “I finished my part of the report. Is there anything else I should do?” She handed the parchment over with a yawn and was surprised to see Theo’s eyes flicker with something. She didn’t know what.

He took the parchment and quickly skimmed it over. His lips quirked at the corner and he put it aside, eyes still lingering over her handwriting. “An Outstanding as usual, Miss Greengrass,” he murmured softly before snapping guarded eyes to meet her bewildered ones.

Daphne froze. That was something her Theo had always said when they had checked over each other’s homework. She had forgotten about that, and it looked like he had too. Up until now.

They stared at each other for a few beats before Theo dropped his gaze and picked his quill up again. “I can finish everything else. You should go to sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

She carefully nodded, and gathered up her notes. Daphne continued to watch him work, but he never lifted his head. Telling herself she must have been imagining things, she gently pushed her chair into the table they had been sharing and turned to leave. “Goodnight, Theo.”

Daphne could have sworn she heard a soft reply behind her, but the door had already closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok almost everything is in the open now with this longer chapter! I hope people are enjoying this story?  
> It's funny, most of the Nottgrass scenes are written in as I edit right before posting! I hope you're enjoying them!  
> Thank you to those who comment! And the kudos are also very much appreciated!  
> Also feel free to say hi on tumblr at ameliortea! I haven't posted a lot, but there's always time for that :)  
> Thank you for reading!


	13. Having a Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer that I am neither a biologist nor a health official and that this is a work of fiction!!

Draco blinked awake, a little confused when he realized that he wasn’t in his own room. He smiled when he noticed the still sleeping witch in his arms. Hermione was turned towards him and had a peaceful expression on her face. He didn’t think he would mind waking up like this every morning.

Pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek, he carefully got out of bed and made sure she was covered by the blankets. Draco snuck down to his own room to get ready and made his way down the stairs to see everyone awake around the kitchen table despite the early hour. Well, mostly awake. Potter looked like he had just gotten up and was slumped on the Weaselette’s shoulder. His hair was an even bigger mess than normal, and Draco didn’t think that that had been possible. To be fair, it was much earlier than all of them usually got up because they needed to prepare for the meeting.

He noticed with a sense of satisfaction that Daphne and Theo were sitting next to each other and had their heads bent over a mess of papers. It was a sight reminiscent of their Fifth Year O.W.Ls preparation, and he realized how right the picture looked. He frowned a bit when he realized they were talking extremely politely to each other, but it was a start.

“Potter, can you check on Granger before breakfast? She seems fine, but I want to make sure that everything is okay,” he asked as he slid into his seat and reached for tea.

Harry nodded and yawned. “I’ll just grab a bite to eat and go straight up.” He reached for a plate and frowned when it dodged his fingers.

Draco smirked as he lowered his wand. “You can eat after you check on her.”

“Wait, you said she seems fine. Did you already check on her this early in the morning?” asked Ginny with a raised eyebrow. She successfully grabbed Harry’s plate for him, but it leapt back onto the table when Harry’s fingers were a few inches away.

Blaise snorted into his breakfast. “I think he managed to do more than just check on her. They looked cozy in bed together an hour ago. I had to answer Robards’s messages all by myself because I didn’t want to interrupt.” He turned tired, yet amused eyes towards his friend. “Your welcome by the way.”

“Draco! You can’t sleep with an injured patient. It’s not safe, and I really thought you knew better,” Daphne admonished with a frown.

Theo looked up from his folder and sent a glare in his direction. “You’re sleeping with her while we’re on a mission involving Death Eaters?” he hissed, “Are you insane? You can get fired for that, or worse, get her killed. You know that all of the Death Eaters would love to get their hands on you. I knew you two were getting along, especially when you freaked out over her yesterday, but this is mad, Draco. Even if you’ve liked her for years, can’t you keep it in your trousers for a little while longer?”

Harry reached for a different plate and groaned when it also dodged him. “You better be treating her right, Malfoy. Although I do have to say, I didn’t think either of you would be going this quickly.” Green eyes glared at the table before looking up. “Did Theo just say you’ve liked her for years?”

His mouth gaping as everyone at the table was looking at him with varying degrees of anger, well except for Blaise who looked amused, Draco spluttered as he pulled himself together. “I’m not sleeping with her! We haven’t even kissed properly yet, because Salazar knows that I’ll probably abandon the mission and run off with her to an empty Malfoy property, are you lunatics happy? Both of us were just worried after yesterday, and I stayed to help keep her calm last night.” He angrily grabbed a muffin and pushed back from the table. “Potter, I’m withholding breakfast from you until you go check on Granger properly. I’m going to go and get ready for our meeting.” He stalked away from the table, running through a list of things to do in his mind.

As the door swung shut behind him, he could hear Blaise drawl, “Well that was quite illuminating, ladies and gentlemen. Now to place some bets…”

* * *

Hermione woke up alone, but the other side of the bed was still a little warm. She could tell that while she wasn’t at peak Hermione, she was already a lot better than yesterday. There was no pain in her chest, but her body was still a little stiff from magical exhaustion.

She was just wondering how long she could stay in bed when the door opened to a rumpled looking Harry carrying an enormous breakfast tray. He brightened when he saw that she was awake. “Good morning, how are you?”

“I’m feeling better. What is all this? I just woke up, and I can make it downstairs by myself.” Hermione frowned as her best friend helped her sit up before placing the tray on her lap.

He laughed. “One Draco Malfoy demanded that I check on you before breakfast, and I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad idea. And most of this food is for me, since they’re trying to get everything ready by the time everyone gets here in an hour downstairs. I also want to eat in peace because Theo and Daphne are doing some awkward dance downstairs going over last minute revisions to the report.” Stealing a piece of toast, he cast the same set of diagnostic spells from the previous night. “Much better. Although, I don’t want you to go into the apothecary today. You can stay and help Daphne with the potion.”

“Yes, Healer Potter,” chirped Hermione into her tea. Even though she was feeling better, she knew that Harry was making the right decision in keeping her at the Cliffhouse that day.

Ginny bounded in a few minutes later with her own breakfast plate. “The Slytherins have gone mad. I swear Nott wrote a book for the briefing today.”

“Are the people coming today staying at the Cliffhouse?” Harry asked as he stole a piece of bacon from Ginny’s plate.

His girlfriend nodded and offered him another piece with a grin. “Since it’s a confidential mission, not to mention Death Eaters being involved, Malfoy asked Misty to unward another floor. Apparently, all of the Malfoy houses are supposed to have a minimum of fifteen bedrooms and they just ward them to disappear if they’re not in use.” 

The trio ate and chatted before parting to get ready for the day. Hermione slipped into a simple set of robes and was just putting her hair into a simple ponytail when a knock sounded on the door. She opened it to find Draco leaning in her doorway with a small smile. Grey eyes studied her as he asked, “Are you feeling alright?”

Nodding, she reached up to brush a strand of hair out of his eyes. “How about you?”

He smirked. “Well, I slept very well last night but I’m ready for this case to be over. I think everything is ready in the living room if you want to head down there now. I need to go meet everybody outside and let them into the wards.”

Draco accompanied her down the stairs before pressing a soft kiss to her cheek and making his way towards the front door.

Hermione found that a large conference table had replaced the couches in the living room. A file had been placed at every seat, and she slipped into a chair next to Daphne. She smiled at her friend as she flipped through the papers. “Did you write all of this last night?” Her eyes widened at how detailed the illness section was.

“It wasn’t too bad. I just used our notes and added a few things we found out last night,” Daphne gave her a tired grin. “Oh, I added Rookwood’s signature to the potion this morning, and the reading is at 90 percent. I think we should be able to crack it in a couple days.” The blonde Healer cast her own set of diagnostic spells on her friend and nodded at the results with a satisfied expression.

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Hermione exclaimed as she flipped through the report. “Hopefully everything will be wrapped up soon.”

Harry slid into the seat across from her with Ginny and picked up his own copy of the report. He choked on his tea when the door to the living room opened. “Cho?”

Turning her head, Hermione saw a familiar pretty Asian witch walking through the doorway. Blaise was directing her to the seat next to Harry before he sat down next to Hermione.

She smiled as she tucked a strand of glossy black hair behind her ear with her right hand. “Hello Harry and Ginny, it’s been a while.” Cho turned to Hermione and smiled. “And it’s been a while since I’ve seen you as well, Hermione. I hope all of you have been well?”

“We’re all well. What are you doing here, Cho?” Hermione hadn’t seen the former Ravenclaw seeker in years.

She tilted her head as she took a quill out of her bag. “Oh, I work in the Department of Mysteries. Sorry, it’s not a well-advertised fact. My boss floo called me last night at an ungodly hour and said that I needed to portkey to Guernsey in the morning. Henry was quite upset. He has a game coming up this weekend, and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to make it” she said with a small laugh.

Ginny leaned around Harry and smiled. “I saw that he’s been doing quite well in the league. The Tornadoes won their last three games because of him. How is old Henry these days?”

“Wait, Henry? Henry Matthews?” Blaise interrupted, nearly rising out of his seat.

Cho frowned. “Yes?”

“How do you know the best Chaser in the league?”

Laughing, Ginny snorted into her own cup of tea. “She’s married to him, Zabini. You better take him off your list of Quidditch players to woo.”

Holding up her left hand to show a large diamond, Cho looked amused. “Cho Chang-Matthews at your service. If you’re a fan, I can get you an autograph.”

Blaise looked shocked for a second longer before a charming grin slid onto his face. “Well Mrs. Chang-Matthews, while an autograph would be lovely for my collection, I was wondering if you could ask Mr. Matthews if he has any spare Celestial Infinities? I believe the Tornadoes are sponsored by the company, and I have very good word that those brooms aren’t due to hit the market until next year.”

“Don’t give in, Cho. He’s been begging for a professional broom even though he already has an Ad Astra,” Ginny stage-whispered.

“An Ad Astra is an excellent broom. I actually use one in the Ministry Intramural Quidditch Games and it hasn’t failed me yet. But, let me see what I can do once we wrap up this case,” replied Cho with a wink.

“Excellent. I guess this is one good thing for having Death Eaters pop up again.” Blaise leaned back in his chair.

“Death Eaters? What are you talking about?” asked Cho as her face quickly paled.

Hermione shot Blaise a glare. “Why don’t we wait until everyone gets here before we drop any bombshells, Blaise.”

He cringed. “Sorry. Everyone was right behind us.” More people trailed into the room as he spoke, and Draco slipped into the seat next to Blaise.

“Sorry that took a while.” His grey eyes flicked about the table before sending Hermione a small wink.

The last person to enter the room was Head Auror Robards. He nodded at everyone before raising an eyebrow when he saw Harry. “Hello Mr. Potter.”

Her best friend cleared his throat. “Good morning, Head Auror Robards.”

“Still enjoying that job of yours at St. Mungo’s?” The man asked as he sat down at the head of the table.

“Yes, I’m very happy where I am,” replied Harry, a bit defiantly. Hermione knew that he was still annoyed when people in the streets came up to him for an autograph and asked why he wasn’t in the latest Case of the Week.

“I’m very glad to hear it, Mr. Potter.” The older man smiled at Harry before looking at Hermione with a twinkle in his eye. “And Miss Granger. I do believe I interrupted one of your evenings a few weeks ago, my apologies. Although, I assume you’ve had uninterrupted dinners since then?”

Hermione blushed and glanced up at a startled looking Draco before carefully nodding. “All of us have been having dinner together, yes.”

The Head Auror nodded and flipped his folder open. “Now, Draco. What do you have for us today?”

Draco cleared his throat. “Yes, good morning everyone. Thank you for being here on such short notice.” He set up a parchment and charmed it to record the meeting. “For introductions, we have Head Auror Robards, Aurors Hughes and Bates, and Cho Chang-Matthews and Anna Crawley from the Department of Mysteries, and Ginny Weasley from Gringotts. We are also joined by Junior Healers Granger, Greengrass, and Potter. And for the Junior Aurors, we have Nott, Zabini, and Malfoy.” Everyone nodded their heads when their names were called. “Alright, let’s get started. I’ll begin the briefing, and the files in front of you have additional information as well.”

He stood up and began to talk about the magical signatures and their discoveries from the previous few days. Hermione already knew all the facts, but she was avidly paying attention to Draco. She knew they had a catastrophe brewing on their hands, but she couldn’t help but notice Draco’s commanding authority as he succinctly summarized the case and the findings so far. His voice was steady, and he was looking around the table as he talked, giving his attention equally to everyone present. He paused appropriately to ask for any questions and answered them efficiently. He was born to be a leader, and she was entranced by the way his hands moved as he talked, pointing out figures and pictures in the report.

“I believe one of the Healers would be better suited to talking about the illness part of this case,” stated Draco before looking down the table. The three looked at each other before Hermione stood up.

“Yes, I can summarize it. To put it simply, there is a disease that is draining magical cores. We have found two cases so far, and it appears to first manifest as a muggle flu before it becomes aggressive and weakens the magical core. Both cases are linked to Guernsey. We have been working on a cure, and we think that it is almost complete. Last night, we added the magical signatures from the Aurors’ case and the reaction shows that both wizards had a hand in creating this disease.”

Robards leaned forward. “Healer Granger, could you please explain how the muggle flu is involved with this? I’m not familiar with it.”

She nodded. “Of course. Wizards and witches with muggle roots going back a couple generations, so muggleborns and half-bloods and their children, are susceptible to muggle diseases. On the other hand, muggleborns cannot get magical diseases, like Dragon Pox, and those with relatives who are muggles are less likely to get magical diseases. It’s nothing to do with magic or blood, but it’s just the way genetics works. Usually the magical core helps one fight off muggle diseases quickly and most muggleborns are not concerned about these illnesses. Somehow, this disease is doing the opposite and is draining the magical core of those infected. If one’s magical core burns out, it could lead to becoming a squib but it is more likely to lead to death. We have a pretty strong theory that the infected patients did have the flu and some magic or potion from Rookwood and Dolohov mutated the disease so that it would drain the magical core.”

Auror Hughes raised her hand. “I’m a half-blood, so I’m well aware of muggle diseases. But to my knowledge, the flu isn’t common in the summer.”

Hermione grimaced. “Yes, I had that thought as well. I looked into a few muggle sources, and there are a few cases that circulate in the summer, although it is pretty rare. Most cases appear in the fall and winter seasons. I don’t believe this particular illness that is draining magical cores is easily contagious though, otherwise there would have been many more cases.”

“What do muggles do about this flu? Do they just treat it with potions?” asked Anna Crawley.

“They do have muggle medicine. However, the muggle flu has a vaccine to prevent becoming ill in the first place. Many muggles receive injections of an inactive sample of the disease, which protects them from getting sick in a way to put it simply.”

Auror Bates considered her words. “Can we give these injections to protect the people of Guernsey from the disease?”

Daphne spoke up, “We can’t do magical injections because it won’t provide adequate protection. Muggles can still become ill despite receiving a vaccine because the strain may be different. Also, we don’t want have a way to accurately test magical injections like we do for potions’ efficacy, and we do not want to mess around with a disease that’s affecting people’s magical cores.”

Harry drummed the table with his fingers. “But we do think that it’s built on top of the flu, so if people are protected from the flu, then they won’t be able to get this new illness. What if we give out flu vaccines at the apothecary and disguise it as a muggle collaboration that we’re thinking of implementing in the wizarding world?”

“Wouldn’t that just make the Death Eaters’ job easier? There would be people with the disease in their system, so wouldn’t they have free reign to do whatever they need to do to drain magical cores?” Blaise asked.

Harry shook his head. “It wouldn’t be active. You can feel a little ill due to your immune system’s response, but they wouldn’t be at risk of getting the actual illness unless we’re off with the type of strain. It will better our chances of protecting people. What do you think Hermione?”

She bit her lip, “It sounds like a good idea, but the flu vaccine isn’t foolproof. We would have to make sure the vaccine targets the right strain of the flu. I think it would be more helpful to have the cure ready instead. However, having a flu vaccine would make it safer for the general public while the Aurors try to catch the Death Eaters.”

Cho cleared her throat. “If this is a magical core draining process that was added to a muggle disease, I can help with the cure. I would need to analyze the blood samples and see how far along you are on your cure, but I can do it in a couple days. This is my area of expertise in the Department of Mysteries, and I spent my first year going through all the files of biological warfare that the Ministry was experimenting with when You Know Who took over.”

“Does this sound like a disease you encountered before?” Robards was making a few notes, but looked up when Cho had finished talking.

“Yes, although it wasn’t just a spell. There’s a disease that was developed years ago that sounds like this one, but it was based off of a potion. It’s the opposite of a core replenishing potion. I believe there would have to be a spell to make it possible to bind a magical component to the muggle flu. The spell for the flu wasn’t complete, but the process should be similar to other ones that I’ve seen. I’m sure between all of us here, we can figure it out fairly quickly with the samples we have.”

Robards nodded. “Alright then. Well done you three, and thank you to the Healers as well. We need to have a cure as soon as possible, and we need to catch those involved as quickly as possible.” He looked to the three Healers and Cho. “If you could work on the cure over the next couple of days and make arrangements for the vaccines, that would be very useful.”

Cho pulled out a large notebook from her purse. “Of course, sir. We can get started on that right away, and we’ll give you a progress report every few hours.”

“Excellent.” Robards turned to the others at the table as those in charge of the illness portion got up from the table. “Ms. Crawley, could you teach the others how to reverse engineer the tracking devices? It might help us focus on what areas we need to sweep. And boys, I want you to give Hughes and Bates a better rundown on the magical areas before going into more muggle areas. I think that would help you spread out. It looks like I’m going to be here for a few more days to help with this case, so I’m going to pop back into headquarters to turn over a few more duties over to Deputy Head Marks. I’ll be back later this evening.”

* * *

Hermione opened the door to the apothecary for the first time in a while and was glad to see nothing had changed. “Hello Mr. Jenkins. It’s been a while.”

The old man smiled and waved at her and Harry. “How are you, Miss Granger? It’s been quiet with just Mr. Potter around.”

“I like to think that I’ve been good enough company for you, sir,” complained Harry as he set a large box on the counter. “Is your niece here?”

“She should be here soon. Her friend’s running a little late because of her shift at the coffee shop, so she went to find her,” replied Mr. Jenkins. “Why don’t you set up in the back room while you wait?”

Hermione nodded and opened the door. They had decided to ask Rosaline Jenkins and her friend Veronica to help out in between their shifts at the coffee shop and bookstore. With their other appointments, it would be easier if they had the two young women to help with the vaccinations.

With Cho’s help, they had managed to complete the potion cure and figure out the counterspell, and Mr. Perkins had been cured the previous day according to Daphne’s colleagues at St. Mungo’s. The vaccinations from the muggle hospital were due to come in tomorrow, so they had decided to use today to train the two girls on practice dummies and had begun to advertise the vaccination as a partnership with the local muggle hospital.

She had just transfigured a couple empty potions bottles into two practice dummies when the door swung open. Rosaline came in first with a small smile. She was a pretty brunette with her hair in a simple braid and a quiet demeanor. Hermione was rather envious of her job at the local bookstore, and had talked about a few books with Mr. Jenkins’s niece during quiet hours at the apothecary.

Veronica came in after her friend with her long red hair swept up into a bun and a large smile on her face. “Good morning, Hermione. How are you?”

“I’m well, Veronica. It’s good to see you two. If you can just take a seat, we can get started.”

They perched on a couple stools as they set down their bags. “Hey Hermione, have you heard about the—"

Hermione laughed. “You can tell me later. And Veronica, don’t gossip with the patients while you’re treating them. You can save it for when they buy coffee from you.”

The red head smirked. “Alright, Hermione. I’ll keep quiet around the patients. But you really do need to hear what I’ve heard about the baker’s daughter.”

Hermione shook her head before demonstrating how to sanitize the area and administer the injection before having the pair experiment a few times. She held up a box of plasters and took one out to demonstrate the last step.

Rosaline raised an eyebrow at the plaster in Hermione’s hand. It was covered in Disney cartoon characters because it had cracked Harry up when he had gone to pick up supplies at the muggle pharmacy. “Do we have to put those on them? Can’t we just use a spell?”

“Oh, I just use these because they’re easier, but you’re welcome to use a spell.”

Veronica grabbed the plaster she had been given and smiled. “I actually like these. I think they’re cute.”

Hermione gave her the box to peruse. “Any other questions?”

“Yes, I’ve never heard of these vaccinations, and I have muggleborn friends. Why are we giving these out now?” Rosaline asked as she picked up her purse.

“It’s a partnership with the local muggle hospital. We wanted to see if it would help because we heard that there were quite a few flu cases already, and we’ve never tried it before. Thought it would be a good chance to try it out since it can’t cause any harm.” Hermione shrugged, proud of the fact she didn’t flush during her explanation. It wasn’t a lie necessarily, but no one outside those who were living at the Malfoy Cliffhouse and a couple Healers in St. Mungo’s knew why they had requested a hundred vaccinations from the local muggle hospital. She even went a little into detail about how the vaccinations worked when Veronica began to ask a few more questions.

After the explanation, Veronica nodded as she pocketed a plaster she had seemed amused by. “We have to go back to our shifts now, but we’ll be here in the morning to help out.”

Hermione waved goodbye before cleaning up and getting ready for her scheduled patients.

She popped in the next afternoon to check on the two girls and was pleased to see the two working quietly. She dropped off a few things for Harry before popping back out to run a few errands. She needed to help set up the house St. Mungo’s had provided for them, help brew more doses of the cure as back up, and work on getting more vaccinations from the muggle hospital. Hermione sighed at her long to-do list, but she was excited to be doing her part. Hopefully what they were doing would keep the residents of Guernsey safe.

* * *

Draco’s back was killing him as he struggled to stay slumped in the corner of the dodgy bar he had been in for the past two hours. He had somehow managed the swallow the cheap muggle beers after he had successfully slipped another tracking device under his stool.

It had already been a few days and nothing had happened. There were a couple flares of magic, but they were in such busy muggle areas and they hadn’t been able to find anyone suspicious by the time they got there. He didn’t know what he was doing in the rundown bar. If he could barely drink the alcohol being served, there was no way Dolohov or Rookwood would think about setting foot here. Then again, maybe Azkaban had affected their tastes.

Deciding he had spent enough time here, he made his way out the door and discreetly sipped a sobering potion as he turned onto a nicer looking street. He cracked his neck and back as he looked around for other places to put tracking devices. Maybe he was better off trying to go through the evidence again instead of running around random neighborhoods.

A familiar building was up ahead, and Draco smiled as the scent of bread filled the air. It was the bakery he and Hermione had visited earlier. He decided to go in and grab a few pastries while checking up on the tracker he had installed the last time he had visited.

The woman smiled at him, not recognizing him under his new glamour. She told him to take his time and that they had a special on chocolate cakes that day. He cracked a smile and asked for three. Everyone was going to be eating dinner together tonight and appetites had increased with all the extra work everyone was doing. Draco was a little frustrated at how little time he had had alone with Hermione over the past week, but they had both been so busy. Having even more people, including his boss, living with them wasn’t helping matters.

Robards had grabbed him after the first meeting and asked if he was going to have to impose any rules regarding snogging or worse on the job. Draco was glad to have truthfully answered that they hadn’t even kissed yet. If they had, there was no way he would’ve been able to restrain himself over the past week. They had only managed to brush hands in the hallway between meetings and exchange a quick peck on the cheek during odd hours, but he was already wishing the case was over so he could spend more time with her.

Dating on the job wasn’t exactly banned, but it was highly frowned upon and he didn’t want to jeopardize either of their jobs. Well, his job. Hermione had already jeopardized her own, but he wasn’t going to be the one to make it worse for her. He also didn’t want to disappoint the Head Auror who had been like a father to him since his first day in Auror training.

Draco had been extremely nervous the first day of training and, between the not-so-quiet comments made by the other trainees and the glares he was getting whenever he set foot outside the Manor, he was convinced he would have to get through the next few years relying solely on his occlumency. But then Robards had stood up and made a speech. He still remembered it.

_“Welcome to Auror Training, and we are glad to welcome all of you. Each and every one of you. It doesn’t matter who you are when you entered this room. It is who you will become that is more important. The merits of your work and character will be clear in a matter of weeks, as it is impossible to hide your true self here. I look forward to welcome those of you who pass into the Auror Corps. Good luck.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah not the most exciting chapter, with little Dramione and Nottgrass, but I need to set things up for the next one! Also guess what show I was watching while writing this chapter haha  
> Thank you for the comments and kudos! I'm really glad to know that people are enjoying the story, and that I'm not just writing in to the void haha  
> Thank you so much for reading!!


	14. Utmost Importance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for use of the cruciatus!

Hermione was organizing a few files at her desk when a patient came in. “Hello, can I help you?”

The woman nodded. “I haven’t been feeling well for the past few days, and nothing I’ve done has worked.”

“Let me run a few diagnostics. When did this start?” Hermione flicked her wand and ran a few tests.

“I believe it was the day after I came here to get the flu vaccine. I wasn’t feeling well the next day, but I was fine the day after. But I woke up yesterday, and I really do think I have the flu and I haven’t had it in ages,” the woman weakly coughed and sat down in the chair.

The tests for her magical core were coming at significantly weak levels, and Hermione’s breath caught. The previous cases had been significantly ill after weeks, but this woman’s core was damaged after only a few days. “I know what’s wrong, but I can’t treat you here. I’m going to apparate you to a different building, and I can help you soon. Is that alright?”

The woman weakly nodded just as Harry walked in, lunch in hand. “Harry, it’s another case. I’m going to go to Cho and Daphne. Are you good to stay here?”

His green eyes widened as he nodded. “Of course. The girls should be coming back in about an hour and Ginny will be here in a few minutes. I’ll send anyone else who has symptoms over with a portkey.”

“Perfect,” said Hermione as she held onto the woman and twisted with a soft pop. She landed in the living room of the St. Mungo’s house to the surprise of Daphne and Cho, who were both at the table eating lunch. “I have a patient. Do you have everything ready?” She helped the woman sit down on the couch.

Cho hurried over while Daphne went to grab vials out of a cabinet. The Asian witch waved her wand and nodded with a grim smile. “This is definitely the same disease. It’s progressing really rapidly though.”

Hermione frowned as Daphne brought over a few vials. “Will that be a problem?”

“No, I just have to give her a double dose of the potion and perform a stronger version of the counterspell. It’ll be fine if I put some more force into it.” Cho murmured a few words and twisted her wand in a complex movement. The woman went rigid on the sofa. “Ok, give her the potion now.”

Daphne tipped the golden potion down the woman’s throat. The three of them waited with bated breath as the woman began to squirm in her seat. She finally relaxed and opened her eyes. “Oh, I feel so much better.”

Hermione checked her magical core levels and breathed a sigh of relief. “It worked.”

Harry popped into the room with a man in tow. “I have another patient,” he called out and Cho hurried over. He looked over at Hermione and the female patient. “Ginny’s at the apothecary with a load of portkeys. I thought I’d bring this one in and see how everything is going.”

Hermione smiled. “It worked.” She turned to the woman. “Do you remember anything out of the ordinary happening since you last saw us?”

The woman thought for a second before shaking her head. “I went straight home, and I didn’t do much besides go to work. I went to the coffee shop, got some muggle medicine because I wasn’t feeling well, went to the bakery, and that’s pretty much all that happened.”

Harry had pulled a notepad out of his robes and was jotting things down. “Doesn’t sound like anything unusual happened.”

Another man portkeyed in just as Cho was finishing up with the previous patient. Daphne helped the first man onto the sofa and Harry moved closer. “What about you, sir? Anything out of the ordinary?”

The man shook his head. “I’m a writer, so I’ve been staying home. Oh, but the nice nurse managed to coax me out of my house with a coupon for a free drink. Apparently, it was some new seasonal special at the coffee shop.”

Daphne frowned. “Nurse?”

The man nodded. “She’s the one who gave me the shot. I was talking about how she seemed familiar, and she told me she worked in the coffee shop down the street. She was glad to hear I recognized her and gave me a coupon to use within the next couple days for a free drink.”

The first woman nodded. “Oh yes, she’s a dear. She offered me the same coupon. The drink left a lot to be desired, so I gave her a few notes. Veronica always manages to give me a juicy tidbit every time I go in, although she did seem quiet that morning. Her boyfriend was very helpful though.”

“Boyfriend?” Harry was scribbling on the notepad, as Cho brought the next cured patient to the sofa.

The woman smiled. “Yes, I was telling Veronica how I wasn’t feeling that well, and her boyfriend was sitting at a table. He was a muggle doctor and he said he could help me decide which medicine to get.”

The first man blinked. “The same thing happened to me. Lovely chap, he was extremely tall as well. I had to look up at him the entire time.”

“Really? He was shorter than me,” muttered the woman.

Hermione’s eyes narrowed and she noticed Harry raise an eyebrow. The woman was much shorter than the man. Something wasn’t adding up. “Could you describe him in more detail?”

The third patient to arrive looked up, looking a little tired. “He helped me as well. He had rather short blond hair and I believe light blue eyes.”

The woman shook her head. “No, he had black hair and dark brown eyes.”

“Well, the man who introduced himself as Veronica’s boyfriend and helped me with my medicine had long brown hair and light brown eyes.”

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks. “Something’s wrong, unless she somehow has three boyfriends who all happen to be muggle doctors. It has to be Polyjuice or glamours. We need to find Veronica.”

Daphne gasped. “What if she’s hurt? The boyfriend could be Rookwood or Dolohov.”

The woman paled. “Aren’t those Death Eaters? Why are you talking about Death Eaters?”

Another patient appeared with a portkey in hand. Cho rushed over. “You three can go find this Veronica and her boyfriends. I can stay here and heal anyone who comes in and keep the other patients here until I make them rest for a few more hours.”

“Ok, let’s go to the apothecary first,” said Harry before quickly disapparating.

Daphne looked at Hermione with a frown. “We don’t have a plan. What is he doing?”

She shook her head. “We’ll make one up. Harry’s just following those insane instincts of his right now.” She apparated with a small pop.

Harry was already talking to Mr. Jenkins when the girls arrived. The man looked bewildered and Ginny was perched on the counter with a bag of designated portkeys besides her.

“Okay, Mr. Jenkins said the girls aren’t here yet. So, two of us are going to go to the coffee shop to ask some questions and one of us is going to find Rosaline.”

Daphne raised her hands in a calming manner. “Stop, Harry. We need a plan. Let’s call the Aurors and they can help us.”

He shook his head. “No, that’ll take too long. Who knows if Veronica is hurt? Again, we’re dealing with two of the most dangerous Death Eaters alive. Once we find her, we can send a message.” Mr. Jenkins dropped a glass bottle behind him at the mention of Death Eaters, and Ginny quickly cast a _reparo._

The redhead had a frown on her face. “Daphne’s right. You need to wait for the others. You haven’t done any kind of defensive or offensive magic in years, Harry. What if you get hurt?”

Harry shook his head at his girlfriend. “We took an oath to take care of people and heal them, and there is no way Veronica’s unharmed with those two involved. We don’t have time to wait. All those Aurors do is plan all day and they haven’t done anything for the past week. This is like a hostage situation! What if she’s hurt?”

Hermione stepped between them. “Okay, calm down. Let me send a patronus to Robards saying we think that it’s someone around Veronica and ask for backup, and then we can send another patronus if we find her before they arrive.”

Harry nodded impatiently. “Okay, Hermione send the message and go to the bookstore and talk to Rosaline. Ginny, stay here in case anyone else comes in with symptoms. Cho’s already cured everyone else. Daphne, come with me in case I make any more crazy decisions and if we run into any other patients since it looks like the coffee shop is where people are being lured.”

 _“Expecto Patronum,”_ murmured Hermione as the other two flew out the door. Her otter swirled out of her wand. “Tell Head Auror Robards that we have a lead on someone, and that I’ll send word when we have more. Back-up would be nice.” She finished the spell and rushed towards the bookstore that was next door.

Rosaline was organizing books behind the counter. She smiled when Hermione entered. “Hello. My shift is almost over, and I should be right over.”

“Not important right now, Rosaline. Do you know where Veronica is?”

The girl blinked. “She should be at the coffeehouse? The only places she goes are the apothecary, the coffeehouse, and her house. Is something wrong? She has been quieter this week. Did something happen to her?”

Hermione grimaced. “I’m not sure. Can you write down her address? We’re checking the coffeehouse right now.”

Rosaline scribbled an address onto a piece of paper and handed it to her. “Can I help?”

“No. I want you to go straight to the apothecary and stay with your uncle. Do not leave. This can be dangerous. Thanks for the help,” Hermione managed a grim smile before she was running for the door.

Harry and Daphne were running up from farther down the street. “Did you find her?”

Daphne shook her head as they met in the middle of the street. “The girl said she went home a few minutes ago but didn’t have her address.”

“I’ve got it. I can apparate us there,” exclaimed Hermione holding up the piece of paper.

“Great, let’s go,” Harry reached out for Hermione’s hand.

“Wait, we need to tell the Aurors where we’re going.” Hermione called forth her patronus again and passed on the address along with a definite request for back-up. “Okay, let’s go.” She grabbed the hands of the other two and turned on the spot.

* * *

They arrived at a small cottage with a bright blue door that was ajar. They crouched under the front windows, and Harry quietly murmured “ _homenum revelio”_ as he aimed his wand at the house. “There’s someone inside.”

Hermione peeked through the window and saw a pale redhead slumped on the couch. “I think that’s Veronica, and it looks like she’s unconscious.”

Daphne crept up beside her and nodded. “She doesn’t look good, and she definitely needs medical attention. What do we do?”

“Maybe we should wait,” whispered Hermione. The house was eerily silent, and the spell didn’t reveal how many people were inside.

“Or, she’s on the brink of death. Don’t you two remember we took an oath to help people?” whispered Harry. Hermione nodded. The Aurors should be here soon anyways. She looked over towards Daphne, who thought for a few seconds before also nodding.

Harry held up his wand. “Watch my back, I’m going to go in.” He slowly eased the door open and snuck inside. Daphne followed with her wand out, and Hermione reluctantly pulled her wand out and walked into the house.

She had barely crossed the threshold when a low voice muttered, “ _Expelliarmus”_ and she jumped in surprise as all three of their wands flew into another redhead’s hands. Veronica was smiling at them in large robes from a position they hadn’t been able to see from the window. “Hello you three.” Daphne had frozen in front of her, but Harry charged ahead despite missing his wand.

Hermione gasped as another rough voice called out behind her, “ _Incarcerous.”_ She found herself tied up in ropes next to her friends. Her eyes slid up to see Dolohov looming over them. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Who knew it would be this easy to capture Potter? The Dark Lord must have been truly pathetic if he couldn’t kill him.” She could feel anti-apparition wards go up around the house, and panic began to rise in her chest.

She heard Harry gasp beside her as Veronica began to shift and before turning into Rookwood. Polyjuice, of course. Rookwood gave them a polite smile and tossed their wands onto the couch next to the unconscious Veronica. “I knew you three were smart when little Veronica was gossiping about these muggle flu injections at the coffee shop, but I’m surprised you made it here all on your own.” He sat in a chair across from them and Dolohov grinned at them as he sat down in another chair.

They didn’t know about the cure or that the Healers knew about the latest patients. They might not even know about the Aurors, who were hopefully on their way. Maybe everything would be okay. Hermione swallowed and thought quickly. “We wanted to get Veronica early from her shift, but the other workers told us she went home.”

Rookwood raised an eyebrow. “So, all three of you decided to come check on her house? How sweet.”

Harry glared at the two Death Eaters. “We were worried. She has been quieter than normal, although now I’m assuming that was just you?”

“Yes, although I’m still not sure why all three of you came. Maybe you expected to find us? You don’t even seem to be surprised we’re here.”

Harry growled, “If we were expecting to see you, do you think we would’ve just charged in? Aren’t you both supposed to be in Azkaban?” His face was red and angry.

Dolohov chuckled. “International relations is an interesting topic. Although, we don’t need to go into that. Why are you three here?”

Daphne was studying Veronica from where she was lying on the sofa. “Is she alright?”

“She’s alive if that’s what you’re asking about,” replied Rookwood nonchalantly. “Now, why are you three here? We were surprised when we heard you showed up on the island.”

“We were suspended from St. Mungo’s due to an accident. We’re here to do some volunteer work,” said Hermione. She bit her lip nervously. How were they supposed to get out of this? She looked over at her friends, and Harry’s eyes had a gleam in them she hadn’t seen in years.

“Why are you two here? If you somehow managed to escape prison, I’m sure there are other places to go besides Guernsey?”

Dolohov snorted. “We don’t need to tell you. Augustus, we might as well kill them now.”

“We should do it in a befitting way. Potter’s a half-blood, and the girl is a mudblood. I’m sure we can do something about the Greengrass girl.” Rookwood smirked at them. “Let me get the needles.” He stood up and grabbed Veronica’s purse. Two syringes came out, and Hermione recognized them as the flu vaccines from the apothecary.

“Why do you have those?” Her stomach was in knots as she realized what was going to happen. She instinctively leaned towards Harry as the Death Eater walked closer.

“Oh yes, how did it go again? Ah, I need to sanitize the area first.” Rookwood crouched down besides Hermione and sliced off the sleeve of her robes. Hermione tried to move away, but the ropes around her prevented her from moving around too much. The Death Eater cast a spell to clean her arm before pushing the plunger down. She winced a bit at the sting, but she was panicking about the implications about what was about to happen. “That wasn’t so hard, was it Mudblood? Here, I’ll even give you a pretty plaster for it. You like princesses, don’t you?” He pulled out a bright pink plaster with dresses on them and stuck it on her arm. Hermione concentrated on breathing slowly as he moved over to do the same to Harry.

“Can we cast the curciatus on them already? They’ve caused us both too much pain for a simple death,” muttered Dolohov when Rookwood sat back down in his chair.

“No, we know both of them can survive a cruciatus, and I don’t want this to take long. I don’t think either of us can cast it as strongly as the Dark Lord or dear old Bellatrix could, and they both managed to stay sane when they were just children. I think they should be aware of when and how they’ll die, don’t you?” Rookwood’s smooth voice held a hint of danger as he grinned.

Dolohov smirked and raised his wand. He cast a couple spells in a complicated pattern. Hermione thought it looked familiar and realized it was the reverse of the spell Cho had cast on the patients. She didn’t feel anything, but she saw Daphne squirm uncomfortably besides them. “Do you have the potion?”

A couple of vials flew into Rookwood’s outstretched hand. They were small and held a silver potion that was glowing. He saw her eyeing the potion and laughed. “Oh yes, the mudblood is considered the Brightest Witch of the Age. Pity about her heritage. I think I’ll explain things very slowly so you’re all well aware of what is about to happen.”

He walked closer and held up the used syringe. “I was in the Department of Mysteries when I came across the most interesting tidbit of information. Apparently, muggleborns and half-bloods cannot die from some muggle diseases because their magical cores protect them. But they also cannot get magical diseases. Seems a bit unfair, don’t you think?” He shook his head as he looked at Daphne, who was looking up at him in horror.

“So, I developed this little potion to have the muggle disease turn on the magical core and drain it. Seemed to be the safest way of killing those who weren’t pure without the risk of spilling any precious blood. The Dark Lord spilled too much magical blood with his methods.” Rookwood twirled a vial in the light and smiled as the sunlight caused it to twinkle. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Dolohov cut in, possibly to share in the glory of finally revealing their plans. “Rookwood was always good with potions and other things, but he never got the knack of some of the more advanced spellwork. I was the one to figure out how to bind the potion to the muggle disease, so it makes it easier for the sick to become infected. It’s quite a beautiful piece of magic.”

“Yes, your prowess astounds everyone,” muttered Rookwood. His gaze switched over to look at Harry. “As for your question of why Guernsey, Potter, it’s quite simple. More than a few mudbloods managed to escape here during the war because the Dark Lord wanted to take over Great Britain before dealing with the continent, and the island was deemed to be too close to France to risk retaliation. The French purebloods have actually been sullying their lines for the past few generations, although who knows why. The island would be very easy to infect and be a good place for us to test potion efficiency without too many flags being raised.”

He picked up the used syringes and threw them in the trash can. “These needles were an excellent idea by the way, thank you. It was easy enough to switch them out with ones that had an active flu strain that worked for our purposes. We managed to improve the potion to work in a matter of days, and we just finished a batch of one that will work in a matter of seconds. You two will be lovely test subjects. If all goes to plan, we’ll just cast a spell over the island and tip the potion into the water supply before we move onto London. A flu vaccine shouldn’t be too hard to encourage after Guernsey dies due to the flu, no?” He smiled at Hermione’s horrified expression. “Beautiful isn’t it? So simple, yet so effective.”

Dolohov rolled his neck. “Enough talk, Augustus. Let’s just make them drink the potion and get on with it.”

Rookwood raised an eyebrow. “Ah, but it’ll be so much more fun if they drink it on their own. Let’s see if they’re still as noble as they thought they were when they were children.” His eyes slide over to Daphne. “We can’t drain your magical core, darling, but I don’t believe the Greengrasses were ever well acquainted with any unforgivables. Your father doted on you girls too much. We couldn’t even find a boyfriend to sway your family because of that insufferable Nott brat.” He sneered at the pretty blonde and nodded at Dolohov. “You can get started on this one. Make sure they can see her.”

“My pleasure,” grinned Dolohov before he was dragging Daphne by her long blonde hair so that she was sitting in front of Harry and Hermione. “ _Crucio”_ he shouted as he aimed his wand at Daphne.

Her body struggled against the bonds as she fell over, an unending scream of anguish wrenched from her throat. Daphne’s fair skin turned white and she was sobbing as the scream continued. The spell cut off, and Daphne began to whimper as she curled up on the floor. Hermione was trembling, and she could feel Harry shaking in anger next to her.

Hermione looked up through her tears to see Rookwood placing two opened vials of silvery potion in front of them, just within arm’s reach. “Let me explain how we’re going to do this. How long do you think she’ll last, Antonin?”

Dolohov nudged a whimpering Daphne with his boot and grinned as she let out another noise of pain. “Judging by that performance, it’ll take her five minutes to reach a state where she will never leave St. Mungo’s for the rest of her life. Won’t even take that much effort.” He removed her bonds and leaned back. “We can set it up as a nice murder-suicide. Didn’t Snape say she was a potions prodigy?”

“Five minutes? That’ll definitely speed things up. And yes, that’s a good plan. A crazed Slytherin pureblood murdering her colleagues. That will definitely work out.” Rookwood gestured at the vials and loosened the ropes so they could only move their left arms before training his wand on them. “I’ll give you two options. The first is that you take the potion willingly and after you die, we’ll obliviate Greengrass here and kill her with a simple Avada. The second is that we cast the cruciatus on her until her mind goes and then we force you to drink the potion and then kill her in an extremely painful manner. It’s a chance to be noble and save your friend some pain.”

Hermione looked at the potion, trying to figure a way out. “And don’t worry,” whispered Rookwood as he watched her think, “we’ve made this version quite painful so that it’ll feel like you’re dying by cruciatus and as soon as you die, all traces of the illness and potion will vanish. Don’t worry about us being caught, my dear.”

She looked up at Harry, who’s face had gone pale and his wide green eyes were looking back at her with helplessness. What if the Aurors were busy with something else? What if her patronus had never made it to Robards? What were they going to do? If they died, then the Aurors would find them eventually. Would that give them enough time to save the rest of the island before the Death Eaters moved onto London?

“Let’s begin,” growled Dolohov before he turned his wand on Daphne again. She began to scream again, but without the ropes holding her back, her limbs were flailing as her body contorted to try to get away from the pain. Her voice broke less than a minute later, and a hoarse shout came out instead. Her scream was still ringing in Hermione’s ears. Harry’s left hand found hers and was gripping it so hard that she thought all of her bones were going to shatter.

They were all going to die.

“Stop, please stop. We’ll drink it,” she cried out through her tears. She moved her arm out and grabbed one of the vials while Harry grabbed his less than a second later.

Rookwood chuckled as Dolohov cut off the spell. “Just over one minute, impressive. Although, I think the Potter of old would’ve stopped us five seconds in. I guess you’re becoming selfish with your age. Smart.”

“You won’t hurt her when you kill her?” asked Harry as he stared at the potion in his hand.

Dolohov shrugged as he stroked his wand. “You won’t be around to know. But, if you don’t drink that now, we’ll just pick up right back where we left off. I think her mind will start to go if I give it another half minute.”

Hermione lifted the vial to look at it before looking at Harry through her tears. She could see the despair she felt reflected in them. No one was going to come to save them in time.

She managed a small smile. “I love you, Harry.” During the war, she had always thought she would die next to Harry. How poetic that it was going to be true, just a few years later than she thought it would be.

He turned towards her and smiled back. “I love you, too. You’ve always been the sister I’ve never had, Hermione.”

Rookwood rolled his eyes. “While this is all very touching, you have ten seconds until I turn my own wand on the Greengrass wench.”

Hermione took a breath and her mind went blank. “On the count of three?”

Harry nodded back at her and raised his own vial. “One.”

“Two,” she whispered as she brought the vial closer to her mouth.

A loud bang erupted behind them. “ _Stupefy”_ cried out a voice, but Dolohov and Rookwood managed to duck before firing their own spells. Hermione froze, but Harry dropped his vial of potion next to her and knocked the vial out of her hand. He managed to pull her down to the ground as a spell barely missed her.

Theo ran past them and grabbed Daphne before he whirled away with the blue glow of a portkey. She felt someone grab her hand and she screamed before she realized Blaise was crouching next to them. His serious face was disconcerting as he pulled out one of the Auror-designated portkey badges and cast a sticking charm before grabbing Harry’s hand and doing the same. He activated it just as Hermione saw a flash of blond hair dodge a jet of green light.

She felt herself begin to spin in a haze of blue and opened her eyes when she stopped moving. The crash of waves sounded behind her and she found herself on the back porch of the Malfoy Cliffhouse.

“It’ll be okay Daph, I’ve got you. You’ll be alright,” Theo was softly murmuring to a shaking blonde on one of the soft couches. He was smoothing her tangled hair and looked like he was about to start crying.

“Theo, can you let us go? I have some things that can help her!” called Hermione as she wiggled in the ropes.

The man tore his eyes away from Daphne and hurried towards them. He released the portkey from their hands, and carefully cut away the ropes binding Hermione. She was quickly freed and rushed over to Daphne and began to rub circles into her trembling hands. “I’m so sorry, Daph,” she whispered. She didn’t have her wand, but she didn’t want to leave her alone to get the healing balms and potions from her satchel just yet.

“We have to go back and help,” muttered Harry as he waited for Theo to work on his own ropes.

Theo’s face twisted in fury as he yanked his wand away from where it was working away at Harry’s bindings. “Oh, because it looked like you were doing so well on your own? Daph was tortured and you two were literally seconds away from dying,” he shouted at a shell-shocked Harry. “We have a plan, unlike you idiots, so you’re going to stay put until we finish this. I have half the mind to stun you and leave you here, but I need you two to take care of Daph while I go back.” Hermione’s fingers froze. They had never seen Theo out of control or heard him speak in a loud voice, let alone scream in anger.

Hermione cleared her throat. “He’s right, Harry. We don’t even have our wands. And I need you to go get my satchel from my room. Daph needs potions now.”

Harry clenched his fists before slumping and nodding. “Okay.” Theo quickly cut his ropes and apparated away.

“Harry, I need the satchel now,” Hermione grimaced as Daphne’s trembling continued. She heard the door opening as she continued to massage Daphne’s arms. When her satchel appeared, she quickly pulled out a few potions and directed Harry to massage a few balms into Daphne’s arms. The hands and arms were always the most affected by the cruciatus, and Hermione quickly tipped a few potions into Daphne’s mouth to help with any lingering effects.

“I’m sorry I got us into this mess,” murmured Harry as he continued to massage Daphne’s fingers. “I should have waited for the Aurors before going inside.”

“It’s okay, Harry. We all agreed to go in. Who knows what could’ve happened to Veronica?” whispered Daphne as the potions began to work.

“It just felt like the war again with you, Hermione. With the Death Eaters and danger, and I don’t think I stopped to realize that there were other people who could also help us. I’m so sorry, Daph.” Harry’s voice cracked and he reached for another handful of healing balm.

Hermione stroked Daphne’s hair as her trembling began to subside. “Daphne’s right though, Harry. They could have easily been about to go use the new potion on others, and there’s no way we could’ve helped them in time. It seemed like they were well prepared. I think the Aurors only managed to surprise them because they were both so focused on us.”

Harry sighed. “This is why I didn’t want to be an Auror. I’d much rather be trying to help people instead of risking the lives of others.”

“And you’re doing a great job, Healer Potter,” replied Daphne with a weak smile. “You can stop with the massaging. My hands are feeling better.”

“Thank goodness. I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Daph. We were waiting to see if the Aurors would show up, but you were under it for so long.” Hermione finally let herself breathe a sigh of relief.

“It’s alright. I don’t blame you for any of it,” whispered Daphne as she closed her eyes.

“I think Theo would’ve killed us if anything else happened to you, Daphne. I’ve never seen him so furious,” said Harry as he wiped off his hands and began to close the lids of the tins he had opened.

Daphne winced and opened her eyes. “I’ve never seen him like that either. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him actually shout.”

“He was worried about you,” murmured Hermione. She was about to say more when a loud crack sounded behind them.

“Hermione!” Blaise’s pained voice rang in the stillness. She turned in surprise and froze in horror. Blaise was rushing towards her with her wand in his left hand. His arms were carrying a still and pale Draco covered in blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments, kudos, and for reading! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far! One more chapter to go!


	15. Perspective

Draco groaned as he crossed the street. The area was too big and there were muggles everywhere. There had been a few flashes of the odd magic over the past few days in the area, but they had never seen anyone suspicious around by the time they had made it to the trackers. He surreptitiously pulled out his wand to check for any signs of magic in the vicinity and slipped it back up his sleeve when all of his spells returned negative.

He had just come out of the pet store and was about to enter a muggle pharmacy when his watch grew hot. It was a message from Robards to return to the Cliffhouse immediately. Maybe there was finally a promising lead? Feeling a little hopeful, he turned on his heel and dodged a woman trying to enter the store he was trying to abruptly exit. Hurrying down the street, he made sure he was safely hidden in an alleyway before disapparating.

Everyone was huddled around a table strewn with papers when he walked into the living room. A silver otter was swirling in front of Robards for a few seconds before disappearing. He blinked. “Isn’t that Hermione’s patronus? What’s going on”

His boss turned and nodded. “The Healers think they know where the Death Eaters are. Hermione just provided an address.”

Draco stumbled as he neared the table and caught himself on a chair. “They didn’t go there on their own, did they? It’s been years since any of them practiced any defensive magic.”

“We don’t know. But we need a plan,” muttered Theo as he looked closely at a map of the island. His right hand was clenched in a fist. “There’s a park nearby. We can glamour ourselves and apparate there.” He circled a spot of green on the map and laid it out on the table so that everyone could see.

Robards nodded. “That’s the best plan for now, especially since we don’t know if there are any wards up or if anyone’s in danger at the moment. I’ve sent word to the Ministry, so Deputy Head Marks is on standby. Tap your watches immediately if you think we need backup. Anna, please send him a message for backup if we aren’t back in two hours. Let’s head out.”

Draco quickly recast his glamour and glanced at the map one more time before apparating away. He opened his eyes to a familiar street. Auror Bates was casting spells and he frowned. “There’s an anti-apparition ward down that block. It looks like it’s going to be the address Healer Granger mentioned.”

“I was in this area right before I apparated to the Cliffhouse. There wasn’t any sign of magic, so this has to have been recent,” Draco said as he recast the spells to double check and frowned as he confirmed what Auror Bates had already discovered. “This isn’t good. There’s definitely something wrong.”

“They must have gone inside, and as good as Potter was, there’s no way he can take on those two after years of working in a hospital,” muttered Robards. “Okay, standard formation. If there’s nothing outside, Hughes, disillusion and scope through the windows.” Everyone nodded and they approached the door and waited as an invisible Hughes looked around. She appeared after a minute.

“The Healers are tied up and the two Death Eaters are definitely there. There’s also a young woman unconscious on the couch.”

“Any injuries to the Healers?” Robards asked as he pulled out two Auror-issued portkey badges.

“No, sir.”

“Glamours down everyone, I don’t want to risk anyone spending too much energy on keeping them up.” Robards muttered as everyone reverted to their normal appearances. “Alright, Hughes, you need to grab the woman and take her to the St. Mungo’s house in case she’s sick,” he handed her one of the badges. “Zabini, you can portkey the Healers to the Cliffhouse.”

They all stiffened as they felt a wave of odd magic come from the house. _Sick. Magical cores being drained. Death._ Draco made to move towards the house until Theo’s arm shot out to stop him with a meaningful look. “We don’t know if they’ve taken a potion or not.”

Robards sighed. “This changes things. I only have one portkey for the St. Mungo’s house. Okay, Hughes grab the girl and take her to the St. Mungo’s house and bring Chang-Matthews to the Cliffhouse unless we know for sure that the Healers aren’t infected.”

They all nodded and moved closer to the house. They were just crossing into the front yard when they heard a scream. Theo paled and started to run for the door before Draco threw himself on top of his friend. He muttered to his struggling friend, “Theo, you need to calm down.”

The Junior Auror in question looked up from under him with terrified eyes. “That’s Daphne. They’re torturing her,” he whispered back. The scream cut off and Theo sagged under his grip. They heard voices inside and the options the Death Eaters were laying out for Hermione and Harry.

Robards took out a third badge and tapped his watch. They all looked down to see the message. Theo was to grab Daphne while Blaise would take the other two. Once they dropped them off at the Cliffhouse, they were to come straight back.

Theo straightened and took the portkey being offered. The six Aurors took up position by the door and Robards held up a hand to indicate that they would move on his signal. Draco could feel the adrenaline rushing, and he flinched when he heard Daphne begin to scream again. He chanced a glance at his friend, and Theo was staring at Robards’s hand like he was going to destroy it.

“Stop, please stop. We’ll drink it!” came Hermione’s terrified shout from inside, and Draco immediately tensed. A steady hand touched his shoulder, and he let out a quiet breath at Blaise’s steadying presence. Blaise would take her to safety while he destroyed Rookwood and Dolohov.

His heart was pounding as they heard them talk. When Hermione said she loved Harry, Draco felt a rising panic in his chest. She thought she was going to die. He took to staring at Robards’s hand as well. It was the only thing holding him back from saving her.

When Hermione mentioned taking the potion on three, Robards held up two fingers. Everyone leaned towards the door, with Robards and Bates at the front. As soon as Hermione’s voice reached two, the door crashed down and Robards and Bates were aiming spells.

Draco felt his friends rush past him but focused on aiming spells at the Death Eaters. Robards was battling Rookwood in a corner, but Dolohov was gaining on Bates. He furiously cast spells nonverbally. “ _Stupefy! Confringo! Protego!”_ Dolohov managed to spin away from his spells while dodging the ones coming from Bates. Draco was forced to duck behind a table when a flash of green light was flying his way. It had been years since he had seen that particular shade of green.

He cast another shield as he stood up and spun more spells towards the tall Death Eater. How was he still so good at casting? It had been years since anyone had seen him.

The sound of spells flying from the corner grew silent, and he saw Robards and Blaise tying up an unconscious Rookwood. That must mean that Hermione was safe. Good.

He was forced to pay attention, as Dolohov batted Bates away with a silent stunner. Draco furiously sent three stunners in succession, but Dolohov dodged all three. He turned his dark eyes on Draco and moved closer while blocking all of Draco’s furious spells. “Well, it’s little Malfoy. I did hear that you became an Auror. Always an opportunist, just like your father.”

Draco saw two things happen at the same time. Robards was sending a strong red spell into Dolohov’s back, whose eyes widened in shock but not before a bright orange light left his wand and hurtled straight towards Draco. He was too close to even try to dodge the spell.

* * *

Hermione shivered in the cool evening air as she studied the diagnostics for the tenth time. The sun was just starting to set, and she cast another warming charm over her patient. Draco’s still body was lying on a cot someone had managed to conjure while she had been frantically healing him a couple hours earlier. The grass had been stained with his blood and her tears as she furiously worked. The adrenaline from earlier had died down in the last couple minutes, and the pounding of her heart was also beginning to slow.

She was too nervous to move him before he woke up, but she was too nervous to wake him up. She looked down at his face and brushed a knuckle against his cool cheek. His face was so peaceful, he could have easily been sleeping.

Biting her lip, she glanced down at his bare chest and the new scar right above his heart. This was one she didn’t think she could heal. It had been a nasty curse that had hit him with enormous force, but it had narrowly missed his heart and lungs. If it had been a few centimeters to the right or if Blaise hadn’t managed to arrive in time…She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about that.

Letting out a quiet sigh, she turned to pick up his bloody and mangled uniform from the ground where she had thrown it in her haste to figure out where all the blood was coming from. She had just finished cleaning it and was about to cast a _reparo_ when she heard a soft groan behind her.

Dropping the red cloth, she whirled around to see Draco blinking his eyes open and smirking when he caught sight of her. “Did you save me again, Granger? I think that’s two dinners I owe you now.”

She let out something between a sob and a laugh as she cast more advanced diagnostic charms now that he was awake. “I would appreciate it more if you didn’t get hurt anymore.” Everything was fine. Slightly elevated heartbeat, but that was fine. She looked down at his face.

His grey eyes had no walls behind them, and they were looking at her with a myriad of emotions. Hermione felt her heart lurch in her chest. She looked at the diagnostics one more time. “How do you feel?”

He thought for a second and rolled his neck a bit. “I’m fine. A bit sore, but I feel fine.”

Hermione felt her pulse begin to race again. “And you’re breathing is fine?”

Draco raised an eyebrow before taking a deep breath in and letting it out. He nodded. “Everything feels normal.”

“Wonderful,” whispered Hermione before she leant down and pressed her lips to his in what was meant to be a sweet and careful kiss.

Her lips had barely brushed his before he was kissing her back with a low growl and wrapping his strong arms around her to bring her closer. The careful kiss quickly became something that was all-consuming and anything but sweet. She somehow ended up pulled to his side on the cot. Her hands swept down his chest as he groaned into her mouth. She felt the need to breathe, but the need to kiss him was so much stronger.

Draco’s hands were starting to creep up under her shirt, and Hermione shivered as she felt his cool fingers brush against her back. She pressed herself closer to him and felt his fingers travel up further.

“Stop! Not here! There is a fully functioning Mansion here and many rooms with doors for you to choose from! Do not use the backyard for this!” Harry’s voice rang from somewhere behind her and cut through the haze in her mind that was focused solely on Draco.

Hermione turned around at the intrusion and the growing need to breathe and blushed as she saw a crowd gathered on the back porch a short distance away.

Robards coughed loudly from the back of the group. “Everything’s been taken care of. Glad to see you’re alive, Malfoy.” He rolled his eyes. “Very alive evidently. I’ll be talking with the Senior Aurors tonight, and we can do a formal wrap up in the morning. Please do make sure you’re available in the morning.” He turned around, with Hughes and Bates following after him.

* * *

Draco could see the blush in Hermione’s face as she made to move, but he tightened his hold on her and pulled her against him with her back against his bare chest. His chest ached, but it was so nice to finally be able to hold her. He felt her shiver when he sighed against her neck. “Now that I have you here, I’m never letting you go,” he murmured, “see, I told you it was best to wait to kiss. There’s no way we could’ve solved the case if I refused to let you leave.”

He grinned at her quiet laugh and kissed her shoulder, feeling a thrill at seeing her shiver again.

“I win! Give me all the galleons. I told you it would be as soon as the case was over!” yelled Blaise, and Draco looked up to see their friends still looking at them with varying expressions of amusement from the porch.

“Not so fast, Zabini,” called out Potter. “The case hasn’t ended yet, according to Robards. Meanwhile, I said they would kiss after a narrow escape from death.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “The ferret’s clearly fine. I don’t know about a narrow escape. I think I have a pretty good case of them kissing in bed. The cot definitely counts.”

“No, he was definitely inches away from death. If anything had been slightly different, Draco would have been killed,” Daphne grimaced. “I still can’t believe you chose that, Harry. It’s so dark.”

Harry shrugged. “Hey, once I heard Death Eaters were involved, it had to get dangerous.”

Draco felt Hermione squirm indignantly in his arms. “Wait, you bet on when we would get together?”

Nott shook his head. “No, everyone knew you were together. It was impossible to miss and a little sickening. Blaise started a betting pool on when you’d finally kiss because Draco told us he was holding himself back in a fit of unprofessionalism right before the Aurors and Department of Mysteries people got here. Personally, I was hoping for something a little smoother on Draco’s part at your make up dinner.” He laughed at the group, but turned silent when his eyes met Daphne’s and quickly looked away.

Draco huffed and rolled Hermione over so that she was facing him again, her caramel eyes furious at what their friends had said. There were some things to take care of, but everything could wait for a little while longer. He smirked. “This is technically my house, and they can’t tell us what to do.” He leaned down to capture her lips again, ignoring the squeals of delight and groans of the others.

* * *

_One week later_

Hermione snorted as she finished reading an article in the Saturday paper and tossed it over to Harry, who had Ginny perched on his lap. “Well, this is interesting.”

Her best friend snagged it before holding it out so both he and his girlfriend could read the article. “Hey, we made the Case of the Week! Ron’s going to be so jealous tomorrow at brunch.”

Ginny laughed as she took a sip of tea. “Well, you already made the front page every day for the last week with everything that happened on Guernsey. What’s so special about this small article?”

“Ginny, it’s the Case of the Week! I’ve already been on the front page loads of times. This is special,” Harry grinned before kissing his girlfriend.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I think the most excited person is President Marlon.” She picked up her satchel and made for the living room. “I’ll see you two later.”

“Good luck on your last operation, Hermione!” called out Harry as she closed the kitchen door.

She smiled as she flooed to the hospital. It had been an odd week. They had spent one more day resting and wrapping things up at the Malfoy Cliffhouse before coming home. Cho had agreed to stay on the island for another few days to track down the other patients who had been infected and cure them. Rookwood and Dolohov had been transported to the Ministry by Robards and they were in tightly guarded holding cells while awaiting trial. Apparently, Dolohov had made a deal to earn his freedom from the Russian Wizarding prison, while Rookwood had somehow slipped through the cracks when he was being transported to Azkaban the last time. The Aurors and Wizengamot had been in a state for the past few days trying to figure out what happened and if any other Death Eaters were on the loose. So far, it looked like it had been a one-time mishap.

Harry and Hermione had spent one day in St. Mungo’s as patients to make sure they weren’t infected, but they were perfectly fine since they hadn’t taken the potion. President Marlon had immediately waived their suspension and held a press conference, insinuating that sending them to Guernsey to help figure out the illness and come up with a cure had been his idea. The press had lapped it all up, and St. Mungo’s had raked in the galleons. Harry and Daphne had just gone back to work and were doing their best to ignore the increased number of glances their way.

But this case, along with her late night talks with Draco under the covers over the past week, had made her think. She needed a change. And she had already sorted everything out with the relevant people and President Marlon. There was just one more person she needed to tell.

* * *

Hermione was looking over the patient’s chart while Healer Jones was scourgifying the room where they had just finished their operation.

“Would you like me to do anything else after I make a copy of the charts for our records?” she asked after making sure that everything was correct.

The older Healer smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.” He walked over and took the chart from her hand. “You’ll be missed.”

Hermione blinked. “Oh, I didn’t know that this was common knowledge yet.”

Healer Jones laughed. “It’s a big secret, which is why the whole ward already knows. I think they’re planning a party next week since everything happened so quickly.”

“Does Head Healer Park know yet?” Hermione twirled her wand as she thought of the small envelope that was in the pocket of her robes.

“I’m actually not sure about that. I assume you’re going to do things officially?”

“Yes, sir.”

He waved her off. “Get it over with. Then go enjoy your Saturday, Merlin knows you’ve deserved it after the past few weeks.”

Hermione said goodbye and hurried out of the operating room into a nearby bathroom. She took a deep breath and waved her wand the way Draco had taught her the previous evening. Her healing robes became perfectly pressed and clean. She carefully adjusted her bun and managed a small smile. Good enough.

Head Healer Park’s room was right next to the trainee room, which was odd because the other Heads had their rooms in a remote corner of their wards. She knocked and opened the door when a voice called for her to enter.

“Ah, Junior Healer Granger. Is there something I need to fix?” He barely looked up from his notes.

Hermione cleared her throat to make sure she didn’t squeak. “I don’t believe so, sir. I came to give you this.” She pulled out the envelope she had brought with her and placed it on the desk in front of him.

Head Healer Park raised an eyebrow and opened the envelope. His expression was unreadable as he read through its contents. “I see. And what brought this on?”

“I have another offer that I will be taking,” Hermione somehow managed to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

Her boss surprised her with a large grin. “You’ll be very missed, Miss Granger. You were a wonderful addition to this ward.” His dark eyes had a sparkle in them, and she could see the smile lines around his eyes deepen.

Hermione blinked. “I thought you hated me,” she blurted before blushing and clamping her mouth shut.

He laughed. “I’m sorry it came off that way. You’re very skilled and a wonderful Healer, but everyone could see that you weren’t happy here. This isn’t an easy job for people who don’t love it, so I was trying to encourage you to leave earlier while you were still young. There are so many other things you can do before you find yourself specializing in the Trauma ward.”

She managed a smile, very confused at how this conversation was going. “Thank you, sir. For everything.”

Head Healer Park nodded. “Thank you, Miss Granger. And if you ever need anything, you know where to find me.”

* * *

Draco handed Blaise a glass of firewhisky before pouring his own glass. He slid into a chair at the small table and took a sip. He might make it through the whole bottle if this conversation went poorly. Luckily, Hermione was at St. Mungo’s for the rest of the day and wasn’t expecting him until dinner. He could make himself presentable by then.

Theo was gritting his teeth as he looked up at the clear autumn sky. “Are you sure we have to do this?”

Blaise drained his glass before reaching for the bottle. “Yes, because this is driving all of us into an early grave.”

Noticing his friend start to close his eyes, Draco’s patience snapped. “Don’t you dare occlude, Theo. I just might punch you to knock you out instead of a spell. Misty, could you please get us another bottle,” he called to his house-elf. She appeared with a fresh bottle and gave all of them a frown.

“Its be too early for a drink. No more for any of you,” she admonished before disappearing with a small pop.

“So, what’s going to happen,” whispered Daphne from her seat next to Theo. She was in pale grey robes and was perfectly poised. Her only tell was the slight shaking of her foot under the table.

Draco nodded to Blaise as he pulled a large vial from his pocket. “You two are going to talk things out finally. And you’re going to tell the truth, Theo.”

“Where did you get that?” gasped Daphne as she caught sight of the vial.

“Oh, Hermione gave it to me. She was very supportive of the cause.”

“All of us are going insane because of you two,” growled Blaise, “Theo’s been driving us barmy for ages and Daphne’s been asking us about what those Death Eaters said. I nearly thought she was going to bring it up during our interrogations.”

Theo’s eyes narrowed. “What’s in the vial?”

Draco took another sip of firewhisky. “Apparently your ex-girlfriend, the potions prodigy, made an improved veritaserum that’s been kept secret by a few divisions. It’s the same as regular veritaserum, except your emotions also come out when you talk. All of the things you’ve been keeping back are encouraged to come out. Oh, she also managed to make the process not painful. It’s going to be amazing for interrogations once enough has been brewed. It’s desperately tricky to make, according to Hermione, which means it’s nearly impossible to brew.” He looked at the pale witch sitting across the table from him and next to his angry friend. “Robards is going to be very happy about this, Daph,” he murmured.

Theo leapt up. “You are not going to force me to take that. You told me we were just having lunch with old friends.”

“You will sit down, Theodore Nott. Or else, I’m going to tell the whole story to Daphne and also include everything about the war and everything that’s happened afterwards. And I will be very detailed because I remember every bloody moment of it,” hissed Blaise.

“No, I don’t want to force him to drink it. He doesn’t have to do this,” said Daphne. “I don’t want answers if he’s going to be forced to do so.”

A frustrated noise erupted from Theo as he clenched his fists. He sat down in his seat and held out his hand. “Fine, I’ll take it. But Daphne is the only one asking me questions and you can’t suggest she ask anything. And, you are not going to make her take it.”

Draco nodded and handed over the vial. “Hermione said two drops should be enough for ten minutes of honest conversation.” He set a countdown on his wand for ten minutes.

Everyone watched as Theo squeezed out two drops on his tongue and swallowed. His guarded eyes instantly flashed with anger before he turned to Daphne with a pained expression. “Well, let’s get this over with,” his voice cracked as he met her wide blue eyes.

A tear fell from her eyes as she swallowed. “What really happened between us, Theo?” she whispered.

He took a shuddering breath, but didn’t look away from her. His voice took on a frustrated tone. “It was my fault. My father made me go home for Easter Break our Sixth Year. He had heard Draco was failing in his plan to mend the Vanishing Cabinet, and he wanted to ensure that the Notts had a strong position in the Inner Circle. The Dark Lord was still heavily recruiting followers, and he had his eye on Lord Greengrass. I don’t know if your father told you, but they were relentless in trying to get his support. He has a considerable reputation in the Wizengamot for being a moderate and almost everyone respects him. The Dark Lord was convinced that if he got a few of the neutral families on his side, then the Resistance would fade.”

Theo began to shake a little and his voice softened. “My father knew we were dating and that we loved each other. So, he made a plan to use us to force your father to join the Dark Lord. He gave me my mother’s ring and told me to come back engaged by the end of the school year. If we weren’t engaged, he was going to lure you to our manor and hold you prisoner until your father gave in. And I knew he would give in for you, Daph.”

More tears were streaming down Daphne’s face. “Theo, you don’t have to say any more.”

He furiously shook his head. “No, I have to. You asked, and potion or not, I should have told you earlier. You deserve the truth, Daph.” He closed his eyes and a tear escaped. “My father had spread the word around that you were spoken for so none of the other Death Eaters could interfere. I couldn’t do that to you or your family. My father was going to use me at any cost to get his rewards, and I knew you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from doing anything. Because you loved me as much as I loved you.” He paused and clenched his fist so hard it turned white. “So, I decided to break our hearts. I thought it would be better than us losing our lives in a pointless war as pawns. I convinced a Ravenclaw who didn’t know about us to meet me in our potions lab and kissed her right before you came in. She figured out what was happening pretty quickly because I had a panic attack and was sick after you left, so she agreed to spread the word that I cheated on you.”

Daphne had her eyes closed. “Stop, Theo.”

He gave a bitter laugh. “That wasn’t a question, Daph. And in case Blaise decides to talk after this, I didn’t tell anyone about this. Draco and Blaise figured it out the summer after the final battle when Draco wanted to work on his occlumency. The idiot had shields that were so strong that my legilimency backfired and he saw everything. My father found out I cheated on you, and your father refused to speak to him. He tortured me for a whole week. It was worth it though because you were safe and you weren’t going to be in any danger. Not because of me, anyways.”

Theo laughed again. “He pulled my wrecked body in front of the Dark Lord a couple weeks later and asked that I be given the Dark Mark. The Dark Lord was amused and asked if I wanted it. I could barely control my body after a week of torture, but I managed to convince him that I wanted to be branded, but that I didn’t think I was worthy yet. I told him I would work on becoming worthy during my Seventh Year, and I would think myself worthy to be his follower after I finished my education and be able to help the cause. It worked, and all I had to do was stay away from you and keep my head down. And it was going fine until last week.” He opened his eyes and tears were streaming down his face as he looked down at his lap.

His voice came out in a barely audible murmur. “I thought I was dying when I heard you being tortured Daph. It was worse than being tortured. If I had to go back to Sixth Year, I would do everything exactly the same. No, I would go back to before we got together so you would never have to go through any of the pain you had to go through.”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this earlier, Theo?” Daphne was sobbing at that point, and the front of her robe had turned black where here tears had landed. She leaned forward in her seat as if she wanted to comfort him but was scared of him turning away from her.

Draco’s wand gave a quiet chirp, but he immediately silenced it. The potion had run its course, but the conversation wasn’t over yet. Blaise had his eyes closed and a nearly empty bottle of firewhisky beside him. Draco’s was close to empty as well, but he kept his eyes open. If Theo ended up obliviating himself and Daphne after this, someone needed to keep everyone together.

The potion had worn off, but Theo just let out a sob and slid out of his seat and grabbed Daphne’s hands that were reaching out for him. His eyes looked up to meet hers from his position on his knees. “I’m so sorry, Daph. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to cause you any more pain. Look at you right now. I never wanted to see you cry again, even if it meant that I could never saw you again. I’m so sorry, my love. You don’t have to forgive me, but if I have to tell you everything, I have to tell you that I’m so sorry for everything.” Theo was gasping for air and trembling as he gripped her fingers in his. He flinched as she pulled her hands away and looked up with wide eyes.

Draco watched as Daphne picked up the vial on the table and trickled two drips into her mouth. She collapsed on the floor, nearly straddling a shocked Theo.

“I wish you told me all of this earlier. Even back in Sixth Year. We could have figured something out,” she murmured as she wiped away the tears from his face. Daphne shook the potion bottle in her hand. “Ask me, Theo. I know you. You’re never going to believe me if you aren’t completely sure I’m telling the truth because you’ve spent so long beating yourself up over this. I can’t waste any more time away from you to try to convince you.” She threw the vial behind her and caught his face between her fingers. “Ask me, darling.”

Theo looked shocked and tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist. “Do you forgive me?” he murmured.

Daphne let out a small laugh and leaned in closer while she looked up at him. “Yes. Of course, I forgive you. There’s nothing I can’t forgive when it comes to you, Theo. Ask me the other question. I know you want to, and I want you to ask it.”

He swallowed before whispering, “Do you love me?”

“Yes. I love you, Theo. I never stopped loving you,” she whispered before she kissed him and threw her arms around his neck.

Draco averted his eyes and saw Blaise crying next to him. His friend met his eyes before angrily wiping his eyes. “This is why I tried to lock them in a closet at parties. I can’t deal with this,” he muttered. He picked up his nearly empty bottle and stood up a little unsteadily. “I’m going to go take a nap in one of your guest bedrooms. This was too much to handle in the middle of the day.”

Nodding, Draco waved his friend away. He took another sip of his glass, and let out a sigh. He coughed to interrupt the snogging couple. They finally looked up. They both looked a mess. “You’re welcome you two. Now, I told Robards that you were very ill, Theo, and that you wouldn’t be coming in next week. I’ll deal with all of your paperwork. And Hermione told your boss that you had a family emergency, Daph, so you wouldn’t be available for a week.” He leveled a stern look at his friends. “I don’t want to see either of you until next Saturday morning for breakfast. Now leave before any of the peacocks see anything indecent.” He smirked before he stood up and walked towards the Manor.

He wandered the main floor as he wondered how to spend his day before meeting Hermione for dinner. He found himself standing in an area he hadn’t been in since the summer after his Eighth Year. The door was closed, but dark magic still lingered in this wing. Draco had come back to an empty Manor with a letter of acceptance for Auror Training in hand. He had spent his first afternoon home destroying the wing. The Drawing Room where Hermione had been tortured, the large ballroom where Voldemort liked to torture his victims and have the Death Eaters come to report updates, the bedroom he stayed in, and countless other rooms that had been tainted were all destroyed. He had stood in this spot and sent spell after spell into the darkness until the Manor’s wards crackled in warning.

Voldemort had destroyed so much and caused so much grief. But Draco hadn’t stopped to think that he was also the reason why Daphne and Theo had spent years apart when they were two people who should’ve been married with twins and enjoying their lives together by now. At least they were together now.

“Misty?” He called out. She popped up next to him and gave him a small smile. He returned it. “I think it’s time we rebuild this wing, don’t you think?”

She nodded, her large ears flapping. “Yes, sir. Misty thinks that’s a good idea. I be telling you of the plan as soon as I speaks to the other elves with Mistress Narcissa.”

“Thank you, Misty,” he whispered before making his way to his study. He had a few hours until he needed to meet Hermione for dinner. So far, they had been sticking with muggle restaurants every night before they went back to Grimmauld. There had been more than a few times he found himself waking up in the early hours curled up around her on the couch or in her bed before apparating to the Manor to get ready for the day. She had told him late one night under the covers that she was perfectly fine with their relationship being public, but he was still a little worried.

The press had been ecstatic to see Draco working with her and Potter to solve a case. A couple people who he knew had consistently given him nasty looks over the past few years had even come up to him in the Ministry corridors to thank him for his work over the past week. But would that still be the case if a former Death Eater was dating the Gryffindor Princess?

Draco set down his now empty bottle and pulled up his left sleeve. He stared at the remains of his Dark Mark for a few minutes before he pulled out a piece of parchment. He needed to ask Hermione if she wanted to change their dinner plans.

* * *

Hermione grinned at Draco’s groan as she swiped the last bit of Misty’s chocolate cake. The press had had a field day when they got a shot of the two sharing a kiss outside a restaurant in Paris the previous weekend. Most of the response was positive, but everyone wanted to see the newest wizarding couple.

Which is why they were spending the last weekend before Hermione officially started her new position at the Malfoy Cliffhouse. Draco had mentioned needing to properly close up the property after the case had concluded, and Hermione had had enough of London for the past week. Plus, Hermione had wanted to see another sunset from the deck. After the past couple weeks in London, she missed seeing the gorgeous sunsets from the Cliffhouse.

She smirked at the blond wizard and set her fork down. “You could just ask Misty to make you another cake if you really wanted a taste.”

Draco gave her an answering smirk and leaned in. “I think I can get one last taste without bothering Misty,” he murmured before softly kissing her. Hermione blinked when he drew back after a few seconds.

“Did you kiss me _just_ to have a taste of the cake?”

He laughed as he reached for his wine. “The cake was my goal, but the kiss was a nice bonus. Both were equally lovely.”

She sighed and leaned back in her chair to look at her smug boyfriend. “So much for whisking me off to a Malfoy property for proper kisses.”

“I’ve given you more than proper kisses, Granger,” replied an amused Draco. This was true. They had definitely done more than a few proper kisses since they had wrapped up the case.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but felt her cheeks flush. Definitely more than a few proper kisses. She took a sip of her own wine. “Oh, I didn’t ask earlier. How was breakfast with Theo and Daphne? I really wish I could have made it.”

“They’re both alive after a week of no messages,” muttered Draco. “Blaise actually started a betting pool on if they’re going to elope, if they’re truly broken up, or if Daphne’s already pregnant. I’m not allowed to bet since they already talked to me this morning.”

Pondering the options, Hermione bit her lip. “Well, the first two options are out of the question. I’m sure Daphne would want at least a wedding, and there’s no way they’ve broken up. And Daphne brews her own contraceptive potions that are extremely effective for all of the Healers at St. Mungo’s, so it’s very unlikely that she’s already pregnant despite any efforts.”

Grey eyes looked amused at her deductions and he just leaned back in his chair; his proper Malfoy posture always disappeared when he was alone with her. His shirt was wrinkled and his hair was messy from earlier. “What would you bet on then?”

Thinking for a few seconds, Hermione replied, “Well, not that I condone gambling, I would imagine that they would be engaged by the end of the year. Then there would be a couple years before they get married with a very proper and fancy wedding just to have everything be proper. And they would have a couple children in another couple years.” She realized with a shiver that their warming charms had disappeared. Standing up, she gestured for Draco to follow her.

He obediently picked up his wine glass and opened the door. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

She gave him a small smile. “They won’t let each other go at this point. Knowing Theo, he probably had a ring already picked out for her while they were still in school. They clearly love each other enough to be engaged quickly, but Theo probably has a couple years of field missions before he’s promoted to finally be more involved with planning and strategy. Daphne’s going to be adamant that they not do anything until he’s far away from any chance of being injured to hurry things along. Daphne also has a couple more years left before her hours will calm down and she’s promoted to a fully ranked Healer Researcher. Once she reaches that level, they would be ready for kids.” Hermione leaned against the bookshelf with her last sentence and grinned at Draco’s shocked expression. “Did I get everything right?”

He walked closer while shaking his head. “I know you already accepted this crazy job with St. Mungo’s Research Division and the Department of Mysteries, but maybe you should become an Auror with those deduction skills.”

Hermione laughed. She had given into her dream to work in the St. Mungo’s Research Division, but a very miffed Head of the Department of Mysteries had also offered her a liaison role. They had tried to recruit her at the end of her Eighth Year, but she had already set her sights on St. Mungo’s. Now, she would be able to research on an even wider scale and collaborate with researchers across divisions and countries. Now that she had finished her week of training, she would officially be starting her dual-role on Monday. “Do you really want me to work in the field, Draco? You got worried when I cut myself on some glass a couple days ago, and I’m a fully trained Healer.”

He gave her a sheepish grin. “You’re right. No more dangerous situations for you. But you’re correct. That’s basically the plan from what Theo told me earlier today. Daphne made Theo tell her everything after they finally calmed down and they agreed on a general timeline.”

“Still the Brightest Witch of My Age and all that,” chirped Hermione playfully as she set her empty wine glass aside. She frowned. “And speaking of dangerous situations, do I need to be aware of anything coming up this week?”

Draco smirked and set his glass aside as well. “I don’t know about dangerous, but I should probably tell you. I’ll officially be promoted to being a full Auror once Robards makes the announcement on Monday.”

“Congratulations, Draco! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Hermione asked as she jumped to hug him.

He laughed as he barely caught her surprise attack. He shifted his hold on her to make sure they both didn’t fall down. “I was going to tell you earlier, but we got distracted. And then we spent dinner talking about other things. I didn’t know how to bring it up.”

Hermione jumped down and frowned up at him. “You could’ve just said, ‘Hey Hermione, I got promoted.’ What’s so hard about that?”

Draco shrugged, but Hermione realized he still wasn’t sure if he deserved the title. She sighed. That was a conversation she could work on later. “Does this mean you’ll be away on long missions?”

“I did tell them that one of my conditions was to not be away for longer than a week.” He looked down at her with a smirk. “I don’t think I can survive being away from you for longer than that.”

“Good. Do you know what your first case will be yet?”

Wrapping his arms around her waist, Draco leaned into her with a smirk. “I don’t know if I can tell you, Granger. It’s a matter of national security. Why don’t you tell me about your work instead? What will be the first thing you do to save the world?”

Hermione grinned and looped her arms around his neck. “I can’t tell you. It’s a matter of international security.” They both knew that they would probably talk about their respective work and cases to bounce ideas off of each other. Nothing would stay secret for long between the two of them.

He gave a low laugh and whispered, “Cheeky witch,” before kissing her. “We should go outside soon if we’re going to catch that sunset you wanted,” he murmured against her lips.

Opening her eyes, Hermione looked up at the earnest dark grey eyes that had so much love in them. She slowly pushed him in the direction of the couch. “We have a lifetime to watch sunsets together. What if we watch the sunrise this time instead?”

Draco picked her up and gently dropped her on the couch before leaning over her with a soft smile. He pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips. “Sunrises sound good to me. I’m sure I can come up with a way to occupy your time until then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tis finished! A few notes as I try to process my feelings of the past two months:
> 
> 1\. Thank you so much if you’re reading this! I have no idea how to promote/advertise stories, so I’m glad you found this one!
> 
> 2\. I have a new fic posted (The Hogwarts Youth Symphony Orchestra) if any of you like music/musicians/orchestras/high school/film music/dramione/nottgrass stories!! I hope to see some of you check it out!
> 
> 3\. I’ve always loved reading Dramione, but everyone in this fandom is so so so incredibly talented that I was too intimidated to ever post anything. I’ve had this particular idea in my mind since 2016, and I decided to post it this year because 2020 was already such a weird year. Why not go through old docs and try to write something that was somewhat coherent? This story is obviously based on Harry Potter, but the summary came to mind while watching Descendants of the Sun. This fic deviates from the main plot, but it’s quite fantastic if anyone needs a quarantine binge!
> 
> 4\. And finally, for everyone who has left a comment or kudos, please know that every notification I got brought me a lot of happiness during the past couple months! I tried to reply to everyone! I really didn’t think anyone would read this fic, let alone leave me kudos or comments. Thank you so much for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed this little story of mine :)
> 
> 5\. This is the last chapter for now. There may or may not be an epilogue or a few other follow-ups to this story when I get the time to write it! (unclear on any sort of timeline) If there is anything in particular you would like for me to expand on, let me know! 
> 
> Thank you so so so much for reading! ~ ameliortea


End file.
